Fledgling
by jaxsrandomworld
Summary: Before the outbreak of the Clone Wars lived a Ming Po girl with an interesting heritage. But with it came a destiny that forced her to leave behind everything she knew, and travel away from the safety of her peaceful, isolated Outer Rim homeworld to the seedy urban Core to prove herself worthy to follow in her father's footsteps. After all, fledglings must learn to fly.
1. Chapter 1

_An OC-centred story. My first fanfic so please, no flaming. _

_Summary: Before the outbreak of the Clone Wars lived a Ming Po girl with a rather interesting heritage. But she had a destiny that forced her to leave behind everything she knew, and travel away from the safety of her peaceful, isolated Outer Rim homeworld to the seedy urban Core to seek a new life. Her journey is one fraught with obstacles, and it does not get easier with no credits, no experience and a bounty on her head. _

_Author's Note: The Ming Po are a race featured in one of the episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I made up the rest of the stuff in this story, solely for the purposes of leisure. No copyright infringement intended._

**CHAPTER 1**

Jaecyn crouched in the bushes, almost flat on her stomach. The herd of deki grazed on in the open grassland ahead in the crisp dark dawn air, blissfully unaware.

In many ways she had an edge over them: she had a sentient brain, and gripped her bow just to make sure - and above all, had the element of surprise.

_Remember, always remember: Those with power have a duty to protect those who don't. They don't abuse it. _Pa had been telling her this for as long as she could remember. A very important lesson, especially for someone like herself.

Shame the Mandarins on Dongfar didn't seem to think so. The current dynasty seemed to prefer harsh punishment as a more effective means to keep the people under their thumb. To rule through fear, and exploit their greater power. There were many things the big-sleeved - that was how folks like herself mocked them - disliked. Big deal - not many people liked them either. Of course, there was a limit to the law's extent.

Out here on Leungching, two worlds away from the worst of the wrath of authority, they could at least breathe easier. But that also meant that if trouble befell them they had better cover their own tails. Carlac was on the furthest end of the system from the star, was that not worse for them...?

_Who would even want to come looking for trouble in such a run-down place, _Ammi-ma would have said if she'd heard that. Jaecyn could just imagine her now, with Chii-ma, Sen-ma and the other wives and their daughters doing their rightful duties, chopping up vegetables, cleaning poultry, washing pans, as was expected of a well-brought up Ming Po woman. Ammi-ma would slice the yaami roots Jaecyn dug up in the forest with a grim smirk, and the other women doing their assorted chores would nod and babble in agreement. Then someone else would pipe up with another completely unrelated anecdote, and they would chatter on about something different. The kitchen in the Komis' manor was only this noisy at this time of the year - when the two moons of Dongfar aligned, which by some unexplained phenomenon of tidal pull also melted the shroud of winter and heralded spring. Of course, there was no snow on the jungle planet of Leungching, and Dongfar's moons were not visible this far away, but tradition stuck like it always did among those who migrated away from home. All the dutiful housewives, or soon-to-be depending on your marital status, flocked to the kitchen of Ammi-ma, the Chieftain's wife, for it was the largest and had the best stove on this side of the mountain. The Komi family had no qualms about sharing, either, for all the food that was cooked was shared among everyone in the village anyway during the grand feast to welcome the new year. Everyone got a helping, no exceptions. Out here people looked out for each other, and as the saying went, all for one and one for all.

Spring festival was even more of a time of sharing than ever. It was as if the village was one huge family, instead of several co-existing in harmony. Jaecyn loved the food, and the singing and the dancing afterward. She also loved that Pa seemed to smile more during this time of the year. He did not grow up in the village, but he loved the place all the same.

Yes, even runaways like them were accepted. They had simply assimilated, and their presence went largely unnoticed. She used to play with the boys of the village with relative peace, depending on how peaceful the rough and tumble of boys could get. No one knew, or it did not matter to them, who she and her father really were, or why they had shown up out of the blue one night sixteen years ago, a dishevelled young man with a squalling baby and no explanation as to where the mother had gone.

Jaecyn knew. Her father had told her everything. She just absolutely could not tell another soul...

_Enough musing. It won't put the food on the table. _She sighed and shook her head, twin braids swinging. The herd had not moved much, thankfully.

Scanning the landscape for potential targets she singled and ruled out one after another. If she picked one to take home today she would have to make it quick, and the best candidate. Dekis' compact bodies, sharp reflexes and muscled legs were not for show.

_Or maybe they were for this one, _she thought as a young buck strutted about in front of a group of young females, his horns and the leather skin adult males used for headbutting in battles for dominance just pushing out on the downy head of fawnhood and marking him apart from the does.

A short distance away a fawn stood under its mother, craning its neck up as high as it could for milk. _Not them either..._

A male deki, with significantly bigger horns and thicker, darker leather and even a few battle scars to boot made his rounds around the herd. _There's sure to be a lot of meat on that one. But taking the leader will only cripple the herd._

Finally, a male way past his battling years. He almost hobbled on his thick legs, and the dark brown fur was showing tints of white. Almost waiting for death to come and claim him, having had enough of life.

She released the shields around her mind, just a bit, and reached out with her subconscious into the animal's, silently beckoning the old one. His ears pricked and he sauntered over cautiously, out of the safety of numbers. She was still hidden, so all his colour-blind eyes could see would be a shrub, not a hunter on one knee fitting arrow to bowstring.

She took a deep breath, tensed, and aimed.

_Fwick!_

The old one collapsed with a hoarse bleat. The entire herd looked up and fled almost immediately in a flurry of terrified neighs. There was no time to care for a fallen comrade, for there were many others in the herd to supplement the numbers.

_Such is the way of nature_, her father had said on a morning very much like this one, more than ten years ago, the morning he finally caved in to her endless clamouring to come hunting with him. He had thought it was dangerous for her, but those worries soon dissolved as he soon started worrying for the animals she hunted instead. Pa was a powerful hunter, but when the two of them were together nothing could stand in their way. As she grew older they would often go to different places to hunt, one of them through the village to the plains beyond and the other up the opposite way into the jungle, to cover more ground. But they always came back to the village by late afternoon, backpacks full of game and herbs, to trade with the other families for clothing and grain, before heading back home for dinner as the sun set.

That was a long time ago. These few months he seemed more and more like a river snail hiding in its shell, spending days on end meditating and avoiding contact with anyone. Even his daughter. He did not - or would not - do anything else. Completely dormant.

Part of her became increasingly more annoyed with him each day; but another part knew just as her father did that the air had seemed darker the past weeks, and she could not blame him for being aloof. The ominous air was affecting them both. She would have joined him, to find out what he knew if it could help enlighten them on what was coming and ease the dread. But someone needed to keep house, to bring back the food. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't. And so the tenser she got, the more annoyed she became.

She hopped out in the wake of the flying dust and went to check the kill. The deki lay motionless, a trickle of blood oozing out where the arrow went through his neck. Up close it was as large as a small hunting akk bred by human offworlders, as old Wuying-ayah, the elderly village storyteller whom had been across the galaxy and back, would say in stories of his exploits.

She said a few silent words of gratitude, to thank the animal for his sacrifice which had brought her food to feed the village, as Pa had taught her, and pulled the arrow out to clean it.

Funny that she, a girl, was out romping in the forest. She definitely was not the type to stay in the kitchen doing nothing but chopping and cooking stuff all day. Today she had gone especially far, just to get away from it all even if just for a while. Junyo would know better than to come looking for her in a mood like this.

_Mark my words, that man and his child ain't good. They've got black magic up their sleeves_. _Especially that girl. Not staying at home like a girl should. And them living in the forest, while sensible people like us live safer in the open? _There had been once, when she was younger and had come back from hunts with her father to trade the meat and herbs they'd collected for clothing and rice, when Laafa, the old village cynic who even the women most desperate for a husband never chose, had bestowed those words upon them. In the middle of the village square. Chii-ma and Rena-ma had tried to shush him and smile nervously to them saying he was probably just in a bad mood, but she knew he was right. Jaecyn and her father were not normal people. Laafa had even claimed them to be practising their powers in the forest, which wasn't far from true. Fortunately no one took him seriously.

This old deki looked just like him, with a disagreeable, creased face screwed all too much like his own. It reminded her all too much of _that _dream - the one she'd been having for days. Pa often said dreams of such clarity and depth only came when something big was coming.

_A herd, very much like this one, grazing in peace, the snow freshly melted and bright young grass growing aplenty. She is a shan bird in this dream, like all others she had ever had in her young life. Juvenile, dusty grey wings awkwardly tucked, also feeding amongst the comfort of numbers. Another shan, a familiar, guiding presence, magnificent and fully-moulted in glossy, powerful flight feathers, keen azure eyes sharply scanning the landscape, gracefully melding into the surroundings. They are not like other winged creatures, who soar the skies with hardly a thought for the world below._

_Suddenly from the edges of the pasture a huge black swarm of venomites bursts forth, swallowing everything in their path. An old, cynical deki falls, the first victim. The others scream and run for their lives, but the darkness pursues, swallows the ground behind them, gains on them, almost consumes them. But the fully-grown shan shrieks, an ethereal battle cry, and flies in the opposite direction, dives headfirst toward the heart of the inferno, the source of the darkness. The fledgling also shrieks, but this sound is a wail of grief at the other's dying scream._

She always woke up at that part, sweating profusely.

Shuddering, she decided this wrinkled old thing would definitely taste better than it looked once it went through the seasoned hands of the housewives in the village.

Then she added it into her father's haversack, along with the several sagis she had found in the traps. This was a lot of food, full of promise for a bountiful Spring Feast. Just the thought of Sen-ma's roasted sagi was enough to make her forget the troubles of the past few weeks - and her mouth water. Slinging the heavy pack back on she climbed a tree, and almost skipped back to the village from branch to branch, landing perfectly each time. There was lots more to be done, and Spring Festival was only three days away. By this time her father would have long finished meditating, like he always did in the early mornings - were this any normal day. Normal meaning without that nagging feeling in the back of her head that somehow the world was going to collapse.

Pa's weird behaviour wasn't helping either. He was not the type to hole up in the face of a crisis. It started one morning months ago when she woke up and found him gone from his bed instead of getting ready to go hunting, and sitting erect in a very deep trance in a small underground cavern across the stream from their home, instead of in the clearing at their doorstep. At first she had given him distance, thought he just wanted a change of scenery and would find his own breakfast and lunch afterward. But at sundown he was still there, as cool and still as ever. For the next few days no amount of persuading, throwing things towards him to snap him out of it, or leaving meals outside the cavern worked - the birds and sagis ate the food before he did anyway. One morning she found the cavern's mouth sealed with a boulder to keep her out. In frustration she had left him alone since.

This whole situation unnerved her greatly. At least in the day she was able to push it aside and busy herself with other things. She only needed to go hunting once in a few days - according to Wuying-ayah, in the outside galaxy it would be twice a standard week. The rest of the time she would study harder than usual, or practice her forms and stances faster, more vigorously. Channel her frustration to sharpen her skills, as if it would somehow prepare her for what was to come.

Jaecyn decided to take a detour; she was too far away from the village to go back and make a second trip to find the wild spices sold for unreasonably high prices in the city over the mountain, and the sun had already risen, so she flipped her braids over her shoulders and went straight to the nearest place where she knew they grew in abundance.

She could almost imagine what the village would look like now - abuzz with children's laughter as they reveled in the festive atmosphere, half the village's women in Ammi-ma's kitchen and even spilling out into small makeshift tables in the square, the other half scrubbing and washing from ceiling to floor - new year, fresh start - their husbands stringing up decorations and repairing the roofs, led by Chieftain Komi Ragul himself - the very thought of the jovial, rotund man up on a ladder yelling and waving was quite amusing; he took no offense, even going so far as to do a trick or two while he was up there. Junyo, Gumon and all the boys she grew up with would either be harvesting and stocking up the last of the rice from the paddies or hunting for tastier game, like she was. In fact she often went further into the jungle than even the gutsiest of the boys to look for game and herbs. _Ah, young fellers like you. Always with a taste for adventure, for challenge, for quests that reap greater rewards. You'll grow up to be quite something someday. _Wuying-ayah had said that to her once. She knew to trust wisdom from an elder. She also knew all the knowledge Pa had taught her from the books and scrolls at home would not be of much use if she stayed on Leungching her whole life. No one spoke Galactic Basic around here, for starters - the big-sleeved didn't like foreigners or their languages, and banned both in the system. Part of her was thirsty for adventure, excited to see what the galaxy she had heard so much about was really like, even if it meant leaving behind everything she was familiar with. But somehow she knew when her chance came, she would not quite be so ready for it.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

The Weequay mercenary leader sneered at the villagers. They were all cowering and pleading for mercy while his men and their akks ransacked their houses, tearing down those silly coloured flimsi cuttings that adorned the walls and lanterns that hung from roof to roof, overturning tables of half-cooked food. The men were supposed to be looking for the fugitive, but they were obviously pillaging instead. _Let them play and have some fun. Maybe it'll get this stubborn Chieftain to_ talk. He had no problem understanding or speaking this low-life's native language, having spent so long stuck here.

'We do not have such a man in our midst!' Komi Ragul was begging for him to leave them alone. But all the leads pointed to this village sheltering the fugitive his employer had wanted dead from almost sixteen years ago. He was so close to getting the man now.

'It's your choice, Chieftain.' His men, having ransacked all the houses, now herded all the villagers into the centre of the square. 'You hand over the man we want, and we'll leave, nice and quiet, or we'll pick one of you at random - and kill you. And I assure you, I am a man of my word.' Some of the women gasped, and arms immediately tightened around the younglings, who by now were too scared dumb to respond. His figure was intimidating, standing on the public stage rightfully reserved for the Chieftain to make speeches or for festive performances. Not even the older boys hunting nearby were spared; the mercenaries had caught them and now they knelt, hands bound, in front of the dais.

'Now, who shall it be?' The leader walked down the row of boys and grabbed Junyo roughly by the arms. 'He seems a fine specimen.' The entire village started to shout and beg. Rena-ma screamed loudest of all, trying to tear away from her captors' vice-like grip to save her son.

'I told you Seran and that daughter of his would only bring us misfortune!' Laafa called in a hoarse voice nearly drowned by the ruckus. But the leader heard it. 'Ah, yes! You there! You called us here, didn't you?'

The entire village fell silent, dumbstruck at Laafa's outright betrayal. Seran and his daughter had done so much. They brought back so much of the herbs and game, and Seran even taught the boys how to hunt. Seran's healing skill had cured almost every disease that ever befell any of them. When no one dared to kill the mountain lero that was eating their livestock and injuring their men and was too fast for even the best archer in the village, when fear started growing for the women and younglings, it was them who had rid the village of that menace. And Laafa showed no thanks? By betraying them to a group of offworlder mercenaries who wanted them dead?

'Tell me what you know of them, old man.' The mercenary leader raised a brow in interest.

'They live in the forest, not too far away. Mark my words, they have black magic. You've come just in time to help us be rid of them.'

'Exactly where?'

'Across the bridge over the valley. A short way into the forest. Trying to hide their evil doings behind the trees.'

The leader was satisfied. 'Excellent. Good that you chose to cooperate. Like I said, I am a man of my word.'

Then he drew his blaster and shot the old man in the face.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

A blaster shot. She could almost feel the white hot plasma burning through her head.

Jaecyn looked at the fallen basket of herbs. Picking herbs was mundane, and her mind had wandered - enough to slip into a semi-meditative state. Quickly, she hurried to gather the scattered herbs and return them to the basket.

She had seen the village. They were in panic. The square and houses had been a mess - all the hard work done for the festival ripped down and left in shreds on the ground. And mercenaries in foreign black armour. And that blaster shot, which had ripped her violently out of her musings.

Wait. Mercenaries.

They had taken her mother long ago, even before little Jaecyn was old enough to remember.

They were still looking for her father. And her.

And they had come to the plateau.

They could be crossing the rope bridge that linked the plateau to the cabin on the mountain where she and her father lived, right this very moment.

Her father would know they were coming even before they reached the other side, he would probably come out and put up a fight, but mercenaries came in large numbers. Their akks were traded illegally from offworld, and bred to kill on sight.

Not even a former Jedi like him could take on so many.

She flung the basket down and flew through the trees, the village calling to her in the Force like a homing beacon, urging her, faster, faster, faster!

The jungles were vast. For a non-Force-sensitive unfamiliar with it it would have taken forever to traverse them. She knew the way even with her eyes closed, but even using the Force to run and jump at an otherwise superhuman speed it would still take at least minutes, the distance was just too great. Mentally she cursed herself for straying so far.

_Pa doesn't have that long! Hurry!_

An agonizing trip at breakneck speed through the vegetation, both to her muscles and her mind, opened out onto a vast terraced cliff covered in upturned furniture, spilled soup, jagged tatters of intricate papyrus cuttings, and the others going around picking up the pieces trying to put everything back together again.

Komi Ammisa saw the braided blur sprinting out of the jungle as if she were chased by a mountain lero. Only that not even a lero could scare that girl. Breaking away from the hustle and bustle she called out over her husband's yelled instructions. 'Jaecyn! Mercenaries! Look at what they-'

'I know!' Jaecyn cut her off and sprinted even faster. The lack of formality, not addressing her as an elder or even offering to help was unlike her. But rather than being offended, Ammisa was worried. Something must have upset the girl. Very badly.

_Come on, come on!_ Jaecyn cleared the ravine, its rope bridge demolished thanks to the mercernaries, in two long leaps, landing on the side of the opposite cliff with a cat grab. Up the slope, toward the clearing at the peak.

_Get home quickly!_

Even before she saw it she knew how the scene looked. Twenty masked men and half as many akks, and even one assassin droid surrounding one raven-haired, dark-skinned man fiercely whirling his azure blade in deep concentration, wielding Makashi in its fullest glory, weaving a shield that neither vibrosword nor blaster bolt could penetrate. Pa had finally come out of his hiding-hole.

The clearing was a mess. There was nothing to destroy here, but the noise, both in her ears and in the Force, was highly disrupting. And there stood her father, the eye of the storm, the centre of the whirlpool. Her father, her source of calm and familiarity. Everything she knew, she had learned from him. Even at this age she constantly looked to him for guidance.

His blue eyes, an abnormality amongst brown-eyed Ming Po, flashed as brilliant as his saber. Time seemed to slow as they came to rest briefly on the girl charging through the undergrowth to save him. How she resembled her mother, though she lacked his beloved's gentle grace and flair for words, which once upon a time could win over hundreds, which offended some others, which started all this...

A split-second slip in his concentration proved fatal.

Jaecyn screamed, an anguished, animal sound. So loud she didn't even hear herself, as the blood red blaster bolt ripped through her father's midsection and knocked him onto the grass.

And in that one moment the barriers she had spent years forging to rein the darkest, most dangerous emotions within the safe confines of reason broke down. Her pained, grieving scream turned into a battle roar.

Slowly, agonizingly, the mercenaries noticed her and pointed their blasters. She reached behind her back and drew her weapon even before they opened fire. Pa had taught her from as long as she could remember how to wield it, and only to use it when necessary.

Jade green, a brilliant, brighter shade of the forest. She flew over the blood rain pouring toward her. She swung her lightsaber, finishing an unfortunate one closest to her with a flick of her wrist. Turning from the motion she readied her other hand, called on the Force and pushed as hard as she could, sending some of the ruffians and a good number of the akks flying off the cliff.

One of those that remained charged up behind her, vibrosword raised. Without even turning Jaecyn did a backspin that parried his strike, then used the momentum to spin herself to face him and slice across the chest.

She charged before thinking, channeling the sudden rush of power that came like she had never felt before with her rage. It was liberating, and exhilarating. It was _glorious._

One after the other fell by her blade, with her weaving through their defenses to strike and kill. A growl and a snarl as something pounced at her left. She ducked and slid underneath in that direction, letting the akk take the blaster shot coming from the right. Rising up from the slide she ran up the tree trunk and backflipped, missing the hail of blaster fire as she went. A vibrosword-wielding mercenary charged up only to have his neck broken backward by a hard kick as she landed on his face. He fell to the ground. She kept slashing, kept going, not caring even if she would lose herself forever in this dark rage.

The last one fell on the ground, backing up to the safety of the bush and pleading for mercy. Before she could stop herself she took off his head with an easy, precise slice. A sudden rush of shock flooded her as she stared at the charred bodies lying all over the place. She looked at her hands, as if expecting to see them covered in blood.

_What have I done?_

Suddenly she heard a weak groan from her father.

'Pa!' She ran over, grabbed his hand.

His azure eyes squinted, his breath rasped. She could feel the life draining from him. 'Do not waste your training...'

'Pa, I'm sorry! I'm sorry...' About everything. About not being a good daughter. About giving in to her rage. About being too late to save him. She was desperate, so desperate that her voice strained to a gasping shrill. It was futile.

Seran mustered all his strength, and eyed her sternly. Do not dwell on the past, she knew he would say. 'Go...become a true Knight. Go...to Coruscant...'

And Seran, her mentor, her Jedi master, her _father_, passed into the Force.

'I'm sorry...' She buried her face in his still chest, choking on sobs.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Junyo and his uncle watched a crying Jaecyn from the bushes.

They had come as fast as they possibly could, but they were still too late to help. If those cursed mercenaries had not broken the bridge they could have been faster - no, there was no use lamenting what could have been. He stared, dumbstruck with shock, at the carnage wrought all over the place.

The spring monsoon chose that moment to start falling, raindrops mingling with the salt tears that fell onto Seran's now peaceful face, with the azure eyes now closed forever. It was a rain that washed the leaf litter away into the streams, that flooded the paddies, one that had no lightning, only somber, resounding patters that struck the ground, leaving craters in the mud like the scars of a meteor shower. This rain reflected her current state, desolate, mourning. This rain traditionally made the soils fertile again, and was the sign of a new year of prosperity.

Junyo came out, and his uncle soon followed. Jedi and huntress she may be, but he knew even his strong friend would have a breaking point somewhere.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, in silent sympathy. No words needed to be said.

His uncle was less subtle, but no less concerned for her.

'Jaecyn, people have to go sooner or later. You're still young. A loved one's passing is even more reason for you to keep on living. For their sake.' He gently quoted the old saying. 'Keep going, okay?' He gave Jaecyn a reassuring shake on the other shoulder.

Junyo winced. He knew she would much rather mourn in silence. But he couldn't blame his uncle. It was the traditional way, to give condolences verbally.

Luckily Jaecyn just nodded, assured. But Junyo knew that face - she was simply being respectful, simply trying to appear like she was all right in front of an elder. He knew her better than anyone else on this side of the mountain - aside from her father, of course. He knew that, had they been alone, it would have been worse. He could not imagine how she managed to keep from crying any more as they cremated all the bodies - even the vagabonds; they were still people, after all - and stood in silent respect as the souls of the deceased went heavenward to join the ancestors. By some strange power - or perhaps Jaecyn's doing - they all remained dry as the rain showered, and the pyres burned on. And all she did was somberly sweep all her father's ashes into a small urn and bury it under the tree outside her house afterward. She had told him once that that tree had been planted by Seran in memory of her mother. From a certain point of view, he guessed, she was reuniting her parents in death.

The rain thinned.

'So what...happens now?' Junyo ventured.

'I must go...go far away.' Jaecyn replied. He thought he could hear determination amongst the shakiness in her voice. Like she always did when she set her mind to do something serious, and, as he knew from their shared years of childhood, would not stop till she got it done.

'Away from our system? To where the Humans are?' Ragul sounded incredulous.

'Yes, Uncle Ragul. To where the Jedi are.'

But would they take her in? Jaecyn, as far as Junyo was concerned, was the most powerful Jedi he had seen. She could do things normal people couldn't. But from what she told him, the Jedi who congregated on another Human world very far away were much more powerful than she. He feared that they would consider her unworthy of joining their ranks, and then she would have no other place to go. Jaecyn herself said she was too old to be trained - they only started training Jedi from birth, she said.

But she had also mentioned that Seran's uncle, who coincidentally was also his master before he left the Jedi, was a respected, venerable member of their Order. Maybe, he hoped, this master would vouch for her on behalf of their family ties, and maybe he would convince them to allow her to become one of them.

Ragul nodded. 'Wuying-ayah will know more about this. We'll consult him later. Are you leaving soon?'

'The sooner the better. I'm sorry...' Jaecyn hung her head. She would not be able to share in the festival. Never again.

The two men each placed a hand on her shoulder. 'It's all right. Better to give whoever's after you a headstart. Show 'em what you're made of, yeah?' Ragul jostled her shoulder. She brightened a little.

'I'd better pack some things first.'

'Sure. Come down when you're done. We'll discuss what to do then.'

They trudged back down to the village, leaving Jaecyn to sort things out.

The clearing where they used to have training duels, or her studies, or sometimes just a good bout of rough play, where Mama's tree stood vigil watching over them in whatever they did, where both her parents rested now, was bare and windswept, save for the soft grass that dotted it. The cabin stood at the far end, next to the tree.

She got up onto the porch and entered the familiar wooden sliding door, for what would be the last time. The wooden planked wall greeted her as it always did, unchanging. The house was more of a cave, a hole weathered into the gigantic tree-shaded boulder atop the mountain and further hollowed out and customised by human hands - small, but compact. It had served its purpose to its previous owners well, the tiny room heating fast on drafty nights and keeping cool on blazing afternoons. Now a cold emptiness filled the space.

She climbed the carved stone steps at the side that led to the ceiling of the small room - and her bunk. The lero-pelt pillow lay at its end. Climbing onto her linen mattress she picked it up and shook out the folds. The animal's skin whipped out into a backpack.

It was actually supposed to be a backpack, and the lero pelt had come from the time the animal had been stalking around the plateau and scaring everyone, and then made the mistake of messing with her father and herself. Then they had taken it to Onga-ayah, the fur-trapper and craftsman in the village, to skin. What had once been its head had been beautifully preserved by his skilled blade, and stuffed to make the backpack's flap. Its front and hind limbs were sewn together to form its straps. And by some tailor's trick he had toughened it with a layer of leather (also from their hunts) and generously added lots of compartments to contain different items. Back then ten-year-old Jaecyn could not bear the thought of such a precious gift getting worn out on hunts, so she used the smooth fur as a pillow instead.

Her eyes got wet again at the memory. She climbed back down and started filling it for its rightful purpose.

She took her empty lunchbox off the stove top. Usually it would be filled with rice she cooked, with a few slices of steamed sagi leg and some boiled radish leaves. But this trip would be a long one - she could not bring food that would go stale within a few days. Instead she went outside and picked two ripened fruit from Mama's tree, fitting them into the rectangular box.

Many hours as a child she had spent in the canopy of this tree, lying on a branch staring through the leaves into the sun. Sometimes if she concentrated hard enough, felt the Force in and around the tree it would almost feel like her deceased mother was speaking words of comfort to her, the soft virgin boughs at the top cradling her in a nest of leaves.

She picked two more and placed them in one of the smaller compartments of the bag.

Now for water. Her wooden canteen was still with the haversack she had left in the hollow log when she had thrown down the herbs earlier that morning. 'Sorry Pa.' Jaecyn said meekly, taking her father's canteen from the stove top and filling it at the stream. Almost as a joke, as one last bit of humour between the two of them before she left for good.

Travel clothing. She had no identification of any sort - in fact no one this far out had - and the only way to avoid immigration checkpoints on Dongfar, according to Wuying-ayah's stories and her father's accounts of the 'real galaxy out there', was to be subtle. Apologising again she folded up her father's cloak which was once used as a blanket, and stuffed it in. The mattress still had traces of his presence...

Her father's bow and arrows, which technically were hers now. They were too big to go into the bag, so she tied them around it instead. Her trustiest defense against anything she couldn't talk or sidestep her way past.

And most importantly...no Jedi goes without a lightsaber. She slid hers and her father's into the deepest recesses of the backpack. She would only use them when absolutely necessary. She would return her father's lightsaber to his master, as was Jedi custom: a fallen Jedi's lightsaber would be kept by someone close to him as a memento. Just as Jaecyn was Padawan to her father, by pure coincidence - or as Jedi would say, the will of the Force - he was Padawan to another relative, his uncle, a highly revered Master who had many decades of experience and service to the Order on Coruscant. He probably deserved this memento more than she did.

Now for the furniture. She had no more use for the medicine stove or the furnace, or the polished stone knee-height slab they used as a table, or the shelves of herbs and food supplies, or the mattresses. She would give it to the others. Dragging it all out to the clearing, she stopped and took a moment of shocking realisation, half awed and half frightened at how she could still be so calm, still be able to function so well even when - when...

Shaking her head vigourously she picked up the wooden sword she used to train with as a youngling and scratched out a message on the ground. If Junyo came up here, which he probably would, he would see it and know she was leaving what was left of her home, her past, to them.

* * *

The entire village had gathered in the square, after putting old Laafa to rest. The elderly sat on chairs on the earth ground, everyone else stood in a circle wringing their hands, and Komi Ragul was back on his rightful spot on the dais.

'I can't believe Seran's gone.' Ammisa, like the rest of the village, was shocked. He had been a friend to many of them, even if he showed up in the village less than his daughter did. Speaking of which... 'What will the poor child do now?'

'Jaecyn's not such a little girl anymore. Seran's death is unfortunate, but she's proven to us all time and again that she can fend for herself. So, Ragul, she has to leave, huh?' Diing Wuying, also on the platform, was speaking a lot more than he usually did, contributing his valuable experience, and this time had the air of not a kindly storyteller but more of a streetwise general, hatching plans and barking orders. 'Coruscant. Tsk. Centre of the Republic, but not a safe place. She won't get anywhere without an identification.'

'But she's a Jedi. Surely she can overcome everything!' Junyo piped in. Legends of the people who could move things without touching them and who seemed indestructible were popular amongst the Ming Po, though no one had actually seen one for a long time.

'Not everything.' Wuying replied grimly. 'Droids cover almost every level of the planet, and she will need credits for the public metro system. Crime rate's probably gotten worse from when I last saw it, and it's been decades since I left that place.'

The rest nodded slowly and blankly, the terminology sounding alien.

Cang Shinuuk, the centenarian, was old enough to remember a time when he lived in the city as a child, and droids were assets owned only by the city people. The closest thing they had to automated droids were the vaporators on their roofs, for a fresh water supply and to keep the houses cool. 'Droids, you say? Those that move like people but are merely made of metal?'

'That's right. Onga, that lero you skinned - does her pack have enough space?'

Lagi Onga stood tall with a craftsman's pride. 'Could stuff in five deki and have room to boot!'

'Good. Because she'll need a lot of supplies. It ain't just around the corner. And her lightsaber cannot be seen.'

The boys gasped in awe. 'She has a real light sword!' Komi Gumon breathed.

'That's right, son.' Ragul affirmed. 'Only Jedi carry those.'

'But Jedi are outlaws on this planet!' Hama Sena exclaimed.

'Outlaw or not, we will miss that girl.' Komi Ammisa sighed, and so did the rest of the middle-aged women. All the women had played a maternal part in Jaecyn's upbringing, a part her late father would have never been able to handle alone.

'She won't even get to celebrate the Feast before she goes.' Someone piped up from the back.

'She can't. It's better she left as soon as possible in case anyone else comes here looking to kill her.' Ragul replied. 'But I will miss her too.'

'Poor child - now she's lost both her parents!' Feing Renako wiped away a tear.

'Ahem.' Wuying cut them off, nodding towards the subject in conversation, who now came running toward them from the plateau's edge.

'Identification, right? Any way we can get that for her?' Ragul got back to the topic.

'I'm afraid not. This is, as Jedi would say, a trial from the Force - or from the gods, as we would say. She must get through this on her own, come Chaos or high water.' Wuying muttered. The village nodded firmly this time. No one would interfere with the will of a higher force, as much as they wanted to help her, for it was a test meant for her and only her.

Jaecyn skidded to a stop in the large circle in front of the dais. 'I'm ready.' Ragul and Wuying assaulted her with questions.

'Do you have enough food and water?'

'Yes. If not, the Force will keep me strong.'

'At least some form of disguise? A precaution to avoid getting checked?'

'Yes.' She held up her cloak.

'Precautions for defense?'

'Yes.'

'Credits?'

'I need them?'

'Listen kid, your Force won't bail you out of everything. All right?'

Jaecyn bit her lip. 'Wuying-ayah, is this worth anything in the city?' She pulled the assassin droid out. As its two halves clattered to the ground everyone gasped in amazement and crowded over.

'A real droid!'

'I've never seen one before!'

'It's as big as a person!'

'Ah, an IG-88! I haven't seen one of these in a while!' Wuying chuckled at some distant memory, hobbling down the dais for a closer look.

'IG-88? The assassin model?' Ragul had heard talk on the market on his occasional trips to the city.

'Yep. Fine-tuned programming. Reinforced steel - very expensive. Best killer on the market, at least in my day. Whoever wanted to get you must really have meant business.' Wuying chortled. 'Sorry.'

Jaecyn smirked. 'Too bad he just wasted a whole bunch of credits trying to kill me.'

'Oh, it's not beyond repair.' Wuying jabbed it with his cane. 'There's still a fella or two who would buy it. It'll be worth more operational, though.' He then jabbed his cane toward her. 'Be careful.'

'I might get swindled, ayah?'

'Yeah, that. And also a small note: it's still programmed to kill on sight. That's why we can't fix it here in the village.'

'Right.' Jaecyn nodded. 'These things aren't seen often here, ayah?'

'No. Which reminds me - someone may be able to track you through that.'

'I'll take note. Anything else I need, Wuying-ayah?'

'For the Force to be on your side. Even if you don't, you still have our blessing.' A kindly grin wrinkled his lined features.

Ammi-ma went up and hugged her, bidding farewell to the little girl whom almost just the previous day had been crawling around on all fours. Soon each of the women followed, and then the younglings crowded around her waist, a chorus of goodbyes. The boys and men cheered encouragement. Jaecyn returned the optimism as best as she could, a lump in her throat.

'All right, stop already or she won't be able to leave.' Wuying grunted, a quaver in his voice.

'I'll make sure you get to the city safely.' Feing Junyo seized up the droid and started to walk with Jaecyn. At the edge of the plateau she turned, and flung a wave back at the people who had been her family. 'Take care!' If only there were some way she could repay their unrelenting generosity - she felt almost guilty that they had done so much, and she almost nothing in comparison...

The village cheered. Smiling, she and Junyo crossed the bridge and headed for the place where she had been hunting just that morning. Junyo would pick up the game she had left there and head home. Jaecyn would proceed further to where the forest thinned out gradually until there were no more trees - where the city was.

In the midst of the noise Wuying spoke, a prayer for the young girl with the that was drowned out by the rest of the village. 'May fate be kind to you, Dooku Jaecyn.'

* * *

They walked as if it were one of their usual bouts in the forest, only this time they were not hunting anything. Just two friends taking a nice stroll, trying to momentarily forget the fact that it would be their last together. Junyo was a year older than her, and often played the role of the older brother even though most of the time Jaecyn was the one bailing him out of tight situations in the wild.

Junyo waited till the cheers of the others were behind them. 'You...all right?'

Jaecyn sighed. One could never be all right when their father just died - no. _Don't think about it._ She swallowed. 'Yeah.'

'You - the mercenaries. That was your doing, wasn't it?'

'Well, do you think they dropped dead by themselves?'

Junyo winced. He didn't need a sixth sense to feel the darkness still radiating from her. The bodies of the mercenaries had rather savage-looking slashes on them - and whenever Jaecyn downed an animal to bring home, it was not just for the sake of keeping the pelt intact that she tried to do so without much mutilation. Killing an animal to feed yourself was one thing. Killing a sentient person out of rage was quite different. That was exactly the kind of thing her father had prohibited from the very start of her training. So she had overstepped some major boundaries.

The things she used to say about anger leading to hatred and hatred leading to worse things were beyond his understanding, but Wuying-ayah, drawing from his wisdom, had once said such power like the one she possessed could corrupt a soul easily. And coming to think about it, he understood just a little bit of what this wisdom meant. Taking a life was not easy, even if it was an animal's. Once you got so used to killing that you actually relished the feeling of your hands around a living, breathing creature's neck and squeezing the life out of it, you were just one step away from becoming a cold, ruthless mass murderer. That was why he used traps more often than he hunted animals directly - aside from the fact that he lacked the reflexes and skill necessary to bring down a fast-moving creature.

'I...guess not.'

She swallowed back tears again. 'Pa's faced off worse enemies than those wimps and survived. But for him to fail this time - ' She balked. 'There must be a reason why he's been shutting me out these months.'

'These months you've learned to live without him.'

'I guess. Standing in front of the pyre just now I thought maybe he'd had all this planned out after all. Maybe he wanted to join my mother.'

'Nah, he's more rational than _that_.'

'Maybe he shut me out because he needed to focus hard, try and see into the future.'

'Whoa sweet! Really?'

'Yeah.'

'Wow, if I had a power like that I could know what I'm gonna eat for dinner the next day!'

'Quit thinking about food all the time, Jun.' Jaecyn rolled her eyes. 'Some Jedi can do lots more incredible stuff than that.'

'And you're gonna learn how to do all those things! When you get there, I mean.'

'I hope so.'

'Hey, listen.' Junyo jostled her. 'Those guys would be dumb if they didn't think you were good enough.'

'It's not that.'

'I was thinking maybe Seran's old master would be willing to speak up on your behalf. You know, he's your granduncle, and blood runs thicker than water and all that stuff.'

'Even so.' Jaecyn drew a breath. 'The Council could find every reason to reject me.' Jaecyn waved at the surroundings. 'They've got more technology and resources than all the planets from Dongfar to Carlac. Looking at this place there's certainly a limit to how far someone like me could be trained in here. I mean, those people probably grew up _flying_ their own ships and playing with droids instead of dolls and I didn't even know what a droid looked like until - until - ' She faltered again.

'Then you _have _to prove you can stand a chance against them.' Junyo pumped a fist. 'Just grit your teeth and charge through the fire. But just don't lose yourself.'

Jaecyn sighed, frustrated. She didn't want to talk.

They walked on for a bit more.

'You...won't be coming back, will you?' Junyo asked.

Jaecyn's silence and bowed head was enough of an answer.

'Who knows. Maybe you'll end up like Wuying-ayah. He left home when he was about your age, he travelled the galaxy, he came back. They say Dongfar's the only spaceport outta here, and they say it's crawling with guards, but hey. He got past 'em.'

'You can't just get sick of being a Jedi and want out.'

'I thought you said that Jedi don't hold prisoners.'

'It's not that simple!' She whirled and snapped at him. He backed up, holding his hands up.

'I - I'm sorry.' She sighed, pressing her forehead into her palm. 'You know, mood swings.'

He knew she was fibbing. Mood swings only happened in quick-tempered women like his aunt - and it only happened once every month or so. Jaecyn had been a mostly cool and calm person for as long as he could remember - until this morning. It was like her father's death had broken a floodgate of sorts that had been keeping a darker side of her under control. Either that or she was just being irritable.

'Hey. Don't make the last time a bad one.' He knuckled her shoulder and smirked. 'Come on.'

They walked on for a bit more.

'You know, I bet they've got lots of stuff to see in the Coruscant place.' Junyo changed the subject.

'Yeah, like Wuying-ayah always said. The people, the artificial lights that make the night look like day, the flying ships...'

'And what was that other word that got him in trouble with Ma? Hookers, I think it was?' Junyo elbowed toward her, grinning. Jaecyn giggled at that time Feing Renako had almost used a broom on the contrite old man for using such a word - in front of children, would you imagine that. Neither of them knew what it really meant, but the reaction it got from the mothers in the village was just amusing.

'And who knows. Wuying-ayah always said there are lots of rich men in the city. And you're available.' Junyo waggled his eyebrows. Jaecyn whacked him on the arm. 'Jedi must refrain from becoming mere concubines.' She taunted back at him.

He laughed. Her being a Jedi was a secret between the two. To be honest the whole village knew that, but as children they liked to pretend it was a secret, taking the village's nonchalance for ignorance. Through games of make-believe he had become the martial artist of Ming Po folklore he was named after, the one with the amethyst sword that could slay dragons, while she had become the martial artist's sworn brother and trusty sidekick in the tale, Tsuma, the one whom had a whole array of weapons from bow to quarterstaff and was equally skilled in all of them. Often if other characters were needed the other children would join in, and then they would play until the mothers - or father, in Jaecyn's case - practically had to drag them home for dinner. The unwelcome nostalgia welled up, and she fought it down.

'They only speak the Humans' tongue there don't they?' Galactic Basic had been banned since two dynasties ago, an attempt to keep offworld contact minimal. Like the other austere policies to keep their people untainted, they were effective - now only diplomats and others of high rank could read and speak in it. But like the outlaws they were, Seran had secretly taught Jaecyn while at the same time making sure she was rooted in her heritage, making her effectively bilingual.

'Yeah.' Jaecyn replied casually.

'Lucky you. I wouldn't survive out there if that's all they speak.' Junyo elbowed and grinned again.

'Pa used to say there are many other languages spoken by many kinds of people outside of Dongfar, not just Humans. Those men from just now, for instance, are only a few examples.'

An uneasy silence reigned, the horrors of the morning still sinking in. Junyo couldn't stand it.

Anything to lighten the mood. 'People who look like wrinkled prunes? And with deki-horns for hair?'

Jaecyn giggled at his ridiculous descriptions of the Zabrak and the Weequay. Junyo knew that she was feeling better already.

'And people made of metal and nourishing on the same stuff that powers the vaporators?'

'No! Those are droids, nutter!' She jiggled the IG-88 that was now strapped to the lero-pack.

'I hope the scaly thing with the bug eyes wasn't a kind of person too.'

'No, those are their hunting dogs.' She laughed.

'Those things? Dogs? Hells! Dogs are supposed to be furry!' Junyo added a note of indignation that made his deep, throaty voice rise to a shrill pitch. 'You know what, the outside galaxy's too confusing for my likes. I'll just stay at home where at least I can look at something and know what it is.'

Jaecyn laughed half-heartedly. She knew that he wanted more than anything to be like Wuying-ayah, to get out there and see the galaxy, see something other than villages and vaporators for once, but probably would never get the chance and so resorted to self-denial. She, on the other hand, was being like a juvenile bird ready to fly for the first time but still stubbornly clinging to the safety of the perch, afraid of the unknown, reluctant to take the plunge. The chance was thrust upon her, and yet she was - how very un-Jedi-like - _scared_.

They walked on in comfortable silence, the chirping of the ubiquitous chatterbirds and the occasional croon of the koel the only things audible over the crunch of leaves and mud under boots. She took deep breaths of the familiar smell of green. There was no space for greenery in the cities of Coruscant.

'There's your stuff.' Junyo knew exactly where her hiding-stashes were; sometimes it got annoying. Reaching under a log into a carefully-concealed hole he pulled out the leather bag. The herb basket lay on its side a short distance away, where she had thrown it earlier that morning.

From here it was only another short way before the city was visible. Jaecyn started to sing - an old folk song about a traveller much like herself who wrote a poem when leaving his own home. Junyo soon joined in.

_'Pulling up my roots is painful_

_To me, and to those who care_

_But unless I let go of the past_

_I will not get anywhere._

_The wind calls for me to set sail_

_Now I must leave those who care_

_There is no better time to go than now_

_Or I will not get anywhere._

_The leaving is often sorrowful_

_Even more for those who care_

_Gods know if I'll return one day_

_I could die anywhere._

_You can't take your home along_

_You can't bring those who care_

_But if you hold them dear in your heart_

_You will remember them anywhere.'_

They reached the edge of the cliff as the notes of the last verse died down. The stream that ran by her old house now widened into a raging waterfall that roared as it sailed off the cliff, glittering gems sparkling in the sunset. The afternoon's rain left a moist glow in the sky that further enhanced the beauty of the brilliant, long rays of gold shining between dusty clouds, grey juxtaposed with pink and yellow. A rainbow arced across the sky, fading toward its ends. It was a breathtaking sight, and also one they had not really been looking forward to. For in the direction of the waterfall, the city and spaceport lay ahead.

'Well, guess this is it.'

Jaecyn drew a shaky breath. 'I don't know, Junyo.'

He patted her heartily on the back for encouragement. 'Get over your travelling nerves. You're not a man. You're a _Jedi_. That's far better than being any ol' man. If you keep looking over your shoulder to see what you left behind you'll never see what's coming up ahead.'

She swallowed. 'I'll miss you. All of you.'

'You don't have to bring us along, you'll remember all of us anywhere.' He gave her a brotherly hug, one of encouragement. She hugged back, bidding farewell to the closest person she had to a sibling.

'Thanks...for everything. You guys have a bountiful year, and many more to come. Don't wait for me.' It sounded so shallow.

Junyo chortled. 'All right, be off with you. The city gates close at dusk.'

Jaecyn stepped toward the waterfall, giving him a last rueful grin. Junyo had seen her jump from unnaturally high places only a million times, and knew she was more than capable of handling this one, even when fully loaded as she was now.

Charging to the falls she sailed off in a flying leap. Junyo ran to the end after her, partly out of instinctive concern and partly to get one last glimpse of the girl who had been the sister he never had, and watched her plunge, arms outstretched like wings. The last he saw of her was a black silhouette shrinking and enveloping among the mist around the falls, reminiscent of a shan bird.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

The old man pounded his fist on his desk.

'What do you mean, _they're gone_!?'

He pounded again, this time hard enough to upset the teacup and jolt the stylus-holder and the timid servant girls who flanked the great ornate chair he sat in. The brown tea spilled over the polished wooden top. The servants hurried to clean it, and frantically fled the room afterward.

The mercenaries shrank back from his ire, still kneeling on the floor. They were local Dongfarese thieves, who like many others had started working for the old mandarin in return for shelter from the law. It was illegal, but many mandarins did it anyway, to use them as their errand boys to get work done, and also as scapegoats when these 'errands' went awry. These two, part of a band working for old mandarin Shan, were only two of many of Dongfar's underdogs, and typically losers in life.

He had placed a few fierce foreigner pirates and one killer droid in charge of a band of nearly twenty. Only these two had returned.

'W-we did kill him!' The fatter one stammered.

'Y-yes, yes we did!'

'Finally. It took you bunch of sandbags, what, _fifteen years_!? Or was it sixteen!?' Mandarin Shan snarled as he stood up. 'And you're avoiding my question. _Where are the rest_?'

The duo kept quiet. They had been prepared for the Jedi, mostly letting the more skilled of the group take him. But when the girl came in, with this ear-splitting scream enough to shatter glass, followed by a huge gust of wind to match that blew them and nearly half the others right off the cliff. They had thought they would fall to their deaths - but miraculously they, unlike their companions, landed in a river and not the hard rock of the valley that flanked it. Shaken, they had grabbed the ship and hightailed it, all thoughts of death before dishonor long thrown to the wind.

They were likely the last living ones of the band. That also meant they would take the full brunt of the blame.

'_Well_?'

'Th-there's...another...'

'Another _what_?' growled the old man, glaring into their faces.

'A - a girl!'

'With...with a saber of light...' They braced for the outburst.

The old man continued to stare. 'Good. Very good.' The thieves looked up in surprise.

'There was another of those blasted Jedi, wasn't there? You know what Jedi are, don't you?' He asked, in a tone overly slow, dripping with sarcasm, as if he were explaining to half-wits.

'Y-yes...?'

'But mighty Mandarin, there are no Jedi on Dongfar...'

'Exactly. And the only reason why she would be a Jedi is because?'

'The...The man trained her while hiding her?'

'And why would he train her?'

'Because...she was his...offspring?'

'Good, good. You have a brain after all.'

They heaved a sigh of relief.

'But I did remember saying something, all those years ago...I can't quite remember...' He trailed off on purpose, invited them to continue for him.

The fatter thief, obviously the more foolish one, took the bait, and dutifully recited his exact orders from sixteen years ago.

'You said, sir, to kill that man, his woman, and any offspring, or you would make sure the condors picked our bones clean at the gallows.'

The other one punched him too late to shut him up.

'Ah yes. I did say that, didn't I.'

'Yes...?'

'Do you know what that means?'

'Er...we don't get paid?'

The other thief buried his face in his hand.

This idiot was really testing his patience, wasn't he.

'No, you won't need pay the next place you're going. In fact, you won't even have to worry about food and clothing, there's plenty of those there.'

The idiot looked up almost hopefully. 'What place is that?' His companion was frantically trying to get him to shut up.

'Prison.' Four guard droids materialised from the door of the study.

'These men are guilty of stealing. I'm sure you recognise them. Take them away.'

The two men were dragged out, screaming for mercy.

After the cries faded the Mandarin sat back down in his chair. 'So you know the price if you fail.' He spoke to the armoured figure standing in the shadows.

The figure said nothing, merely walked out from behind the shelf that divided the room in two to the front of the table.

'Take off that thing when an elder's speaking to you, _boy_. It's rude when one cannot see your face.' He snapped.

Scowling, the figure took his helmet off and tucked it under his arm, revealing his strange, alien straw-coloured hair and green eyes and sharp features, taut with youth and smooth with inexperience, save for a small scar that jagged from his chin and sliced across his lip. With lack of experience usually came lack of skill. But he was still hired anyway, for his kind had a fearful reputation. _Firstly, it's a _buy'ce_, not a _thing_. Secondly, you're not _my_ grandfather. Thirdly, I can't help it if you don't like my armour or the fact that I'm Human. The sooner this deal's over the better._

'You heard those idiots.'

'Yes sir.' replied the young man evenly.

'Kill her. By hook or by crook. Then come back and we can negotiate your pay. And,' the old man held up a bony finger. '_Bring back proof that she's dead_.'

'Yes sir.' The foreigner decided to follow the local tradition, and bowed low to the table before turning on his heel and leaving. Perhaps it would earn him an extra tip for a show of respect. A small, still boyish part of him had meant that as a gesture of mockery.

Walking out of the government building - through the back door, never the front - he put his helmet back on and hoisted his rifle over his shoulder. He passed under a large banner flying from the second floor, noting the clan emblem. It was, as he'd heard, a stylised symbol of the shan bird, a symbol of power, finesse, grace. Offworlders called it the Dongfarese eagle. Some said the bird itself was named after the forefather of the Shan family who settled on Dongfar a millenium ago - he must have done something really great for them to name such an elegant bird in his honour. And that probably explained why the family was so tyrannically powerful. But sadly as the cities grew larger its numbers grew smaller, until the point where it only roamed in abundance in legends and song, and even seeing one was a sign of good fortune.

The streets were crowded, even more so now, and noisier to boot - _Spring Festival's tonight_, he reminded himself. The locals did like their celebrations big. At least he did not have to worry about pickpockets, for all his things were secured tightly within the various slots of the steel-plastoid casing of his armour. And at the manly age of sixteen he could fend for himself.

He was only taking this job because he needed the money. Other than that it made no sense at all. A man spending fortunes to kill a granddaughter who he'd never even met - his own _flesh and blood_ - when he could use it to upgrade some of the alarmingly obsolete stuff here. _I guess that's what's wrong with politicians. Don't even get me started on what happened to - to..._ His people were once a race of proud, strong warriors respected in the galaxy. Now they were nothing but peace-loving servants to the Republic, and to their _enemies_, for kriff's sake! It was no wonder so many of those who still respected the warriors' ways deserted, like himself. But there was also something personal to it...

Growling, he strode ever faster to the spaceport, ignoring the intimidated stares. These people didn't trust his foreign attire any more than they would trust his foreign appearance.

There was no ship waiting for him - if he had been able to afford one he wouldn't be working for this old crackpot. And he sure as hells would not part with his jetpack, even for the highest price. It allowed him probably the only edge he had over his target.

_Jedi_. Personally the one he was tracking would be the first he met, but he had heard enough stories from assorted people around the galaxy, and rants from his own people, to know they were not to be trifled with. Those losers back in the old man's office had stated that the one he was tracking was only an apprentice, but still...

_At least none of them said Jedi could fly_. He climbed onto a vantage point atop a small building near the city gate, in the shadows of the sun so no one could see him, where he could see everyone who passed in and out of the city.

Jedi were also banned on this planet, along with many other things. So if this fugitive had a hope of escaping the only way out was here, the only spaceport in this system. He doubted there were any accomplices involved, or fast rides offworld. But if she came from the rural areas that meant she probably had no identification - even if she did she could not possibly risk getting caught by revealing herself to authorities. She would likely be cloaked, too - but no one knew what she looked like.

So, bottom line: look for someone suspicious that's trying to sneak onto a ship. How very specific.

He looked at the sea of people and groaned inwardly.

Then he saw it - a droid's head awkwardly bobbing on top of something. Droids were rare here, only owned by the rare few who could afford them, and certainly would not be carried around on the back of a mere commoner.

He quickly unfixed the scope from his sniper rifle, using it as a makeshift telescope to get a closer look.

The person hoisting the droid was shaded by a hood attached to a worn black cloak, but the lower half of the face looked surprisingly young and feminine.

A young female with an old cloak that looked like a man-sized hand-me-down. And the previous band of mercenaries that had failed - there was a droid of those likes among them...it was likely she was taking it along to sell after having dismembered it or something. The timing seemed about right too - taking the first opportunity to hightail it before more unwanted stalkers came.

And if a young girl could take down an assassin droid...

_Target sighted_. 'Bingo.' He lifted his rifle, almost not believing his luck. But a warning bell rang in the back of his head - a memory from far back in his memory, from his _real_ family, not the tyrants that had trained him, forcibly shaped him to be what he was now. _'Violence is never the solution! Killing can never right wrongs! Put down that rifle now!'_ And he almost did. But no, _no _- he needed money, one had to be tough to survive this galaxy. _But she's just a young girl - no older than you are!_

Ah, who was he kidding. He was only having second thoughts because his training had never prepared him for this. This would be his first time killing a real sentient, and a small, still compassionate part of him knew it was wrong. _Quit being a _hut'tuun_ and grow a pair! _He pictured himself dumping the corpse on the Mandarin's desk and walking out overflowing with money, basking in the old man's incredulous gaze. And he smirked. That oughta show him. Once he got over this kill he would no longer be afraid to take lives, to act like a true member of his warrior race.

There was only one shot to this - once the throngs of people were startled he would get no more chances. _No problem, I've been trained for this._

He aimed, taking the young female dead centre in his scope.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

If she had thought Leungching's city was huge, she was dead wrong.

The spaceport on Dongfar was...was...there were no words to describe it.

The Spring decorations here were far more extravagant than those of the village, almost to the point of looking garish. She silently slipped away from the supply ship that she had hitched a ride on from Leungching, during which she had loosened her two braids, bunned up her hair like a local boy's and cut off strips of Pa's cloak to bind her growing chest. The droids and workers were too busy moving crates to notice.

Melting into the crowd, she left the docking bay and went through the city gates. As the stone arch passed overhead so did a looming cloud of suspicion. She felt like someone was watching her.

_You're a hunter. Don't end up being the hunted. _Pa had taught her to always keep a part of her subconscious on her surroundings should something try to sneak up on her, even with her eyes trained on game.

Suddenly by pure reflex she lunged forward and dropped to a roll, missing the blaster shot by mere inches.

The crowd exploded in terror at the piercing sound. Everyone started stampeding in all directions.

_ASSASSIN! _The word screamed in her mind as she sprinted past the scurrying citizens to the nearest alley, sparing only one backward glance to try and identify her next killer. All she saw was a flash of a figure clad in metal on the second floor of a low building and the smoking barrel of a rifle receding quickly into the shadows.

_Forget the extra credits!_ Dumping the droid into a pile of snow she leapt to the safety of the rooftops, almost flying now that she was free of the daunting weight. It stood above the crowd like a beacon - it was a stupid mistake to carry it around and almost get herself killed.

She ran and jumped as fast as she could from roof to roof, and dared not slow down until the Force and her instincts stopped ringing. Sliding down a slanted facade she thumped into another snowy alley, and vanished amongst the crowd again.

This time she wrapped another layer of mental shields around herself, to deflect suspicion from anyone else that could possibly be on her trail.

Here at the only spaceport that provided interstellar transport, there were more and more foreign faces. People of different shapes, sizes and colours. The variety of races and languages was interesting, and her awe and curiosity helped her relax a bit from the surprise attack.

Shuddering she pulled the cloak tighter. Pa was - had been - a good few inches bigger than her. She had to keep rolling up her sleeves and making sure she didn't trip on the long robe. She'd long known winters were cold, but actually experiencing it for the first time was something else altogether, completely different from the balmy jungles of Leungching. And snow. It crunched under her boots, an odd but not entirely unpleasant sensation. She jammed her hands in her armpits. A collared shawl, cotton tunic, cloth pants and deki-skin boots were far from enough to keep warm in a place like this.

This was the best time to escape. Everyone was in a festive mood, and going around bundled up like she was could be dismissed as trying to keep warm rather than trying to look suspicious.

There was just one problem - the gate to the open-roofed hangar was guarded by menacing-looking guard droids.

She kept to the sides of the main street, then eventually banked off into yet another alley. The crowds thinned out and the snow thickened, having been untouched. It was darker here, but it didn't matter - the Force would guide her.

* * *

_Damn it! Damn it to all the hells!_

It was supposed to be a one-kill shot! He couldn't have missed!

_Damn it, damn it, damn it_

He skirted the rooftops anxiously, disappearing into the shadows before the law enforcers could come.

He was a decent sniper during training. He usually had no difficulty with moving targets either. So if his aim wasn't off, that could only mean one thing.

His target was...a _little _better than he'd expected.

If this _apprentice_ could dodge a shot even before it was fired, then he hoped the Mandarin would pay well. He would probably need a lot of insurance coverage for medical bills and limb replacements if he ever faced a fully-trained Jedi.

Dropping to the opposite street he sneaked in the direction he had seen her run, and turned down the next alley that connected both roads.

He swept the snow around until he found what he was looking for. He smirked as he found out he had been right - in her haste to escape she had discarded the droid.

She probably didn't realise she wasn't covering her tracks properly. But he couldn't expect much from someone who likely had never even actually seen a droid until not long ago. _Some backwater world._

Opening the head he took out its memory banks.

Now he could access the memories of the droid while it was fighting the Jedi - he desperately needed to know more about her in order to know how to take her on.

Now to connect it to something...

He went back to the hangar, into the small inn just outside. It wasn't much, just a small traditional-style wooden establishment for temporary stay, mostly used by offworlders - they were absolutely off limits beyond the capital city, and likewise locals were forbidden from traveling offworld. This policy had been in place for centuries - as antisocial as it may have seemed it was effective in keeping the system untainted by offworld influence. But to be honest there was nothing worth coming here for anyway.

Most of the other guys in this place were average Joes - this far away from the Core, that translated to 'armed to the teeth, had connections, sometimes not particularly legal, in at least one Outer Rim system and could and would not hesitate to take advantage of any situation'.

Well, so was he, except maybe lacking in the connections part, still being fresh and all. There was still quite a bit of time to analyze the memory core. He removed his helmet and went into his room. A small grey-and-black dome lit up, whirred and chirped at his presence.

'Hey there boy.' Daryc patted the astromech's head. This was something else he would never part with for anything in the galaxy. People could turn on you anytime, but droids were _programmed_ to stick by you through whatever comes. He had heard that from a Corellian droid dealer once. Sure it was an advertising trick, but there was some truth to it.

R5-K8 let out a string of beeps, scolding Daryc for leaving him alone for so long.

'Yeah, yeah, we'll get our own ship as soon as possible. Don't worry, Arkay.' Astromechs were worth quite a bit - he was not about to let his friend get stolen.

'Listen, I need to analyze this.' He held up the memory core.

R5 crooned in awe and popped a hatch open on his cylindrical body. Daryc inspected the interface, then picked up some wires and clips, connecting the core to R5 after some fiddling.

A blue holoimage sprang forth from the astromech's projector lens. They were still in the old Mandarin's office, getting briefed for the mission most of them never returned from.

The old man's voice was even scratchier on holo. '_Find that man and kill him!_ _He will pay dearly for disgracing _my _family-'_

'No, no, fast forward...' Daryc waved dismissively. Enough dictator rants for a day. Images skipped, almost comically. Terrorizing a local village, going up a mountain, killing the man they were looking for -

'_NOOOOO-' _

'Pause!' The holo froze. Another figure had jumped out of the shrub. Frozen in midair, lightsaber drawn, raven braids and fringe flying. That was her. Light brown tunic, black leggings and animal-skin boots, canvas shawl - all rather primitive. He took a good look at her face - she did look an awful lot like Mandarin Shan's late daughter, the one whom, according to whispered rumours, had defied her arranged marriage and eloped with the man on the holo many years ago. Apparently that counted as a serious disgrace to the family - apparently simply disowning her wasn't enough. Except this was a face that screamed horror and shock. It looked distorted and almost painful to watch.

And how did he know what the old man's daughter looked like? He hadn't spent the time in the Mandarin's study moping, obviously he had checked out the place. The old man had either forgotten to remove his least favourite daughter from the series of family portraits behind the shelf, or custom did not allow it and he had shoved it away into the dark, not allowing her disgrace to taint his image. Either way he knew she was dead, because the words on the portrait said so. He could only infer that much given his very limited knowledge of the local language. Maybe her picture stood out because she seemed to be the only one in the family who could pose for a painting without being an eyesore. Bright almond eyes, raven hair tied up all nice-looking, the corners of her peach lips turning up ever so slightly on her slender face...her midsection had looked questionably out of proportion, though...

'Can you enlarge her face? And try to make it...not so pixelated?' Arkay tried his best. It was still rather fuzzy, but Daryc could see the Shan clan emblem tattooed on her exposed forehead as a birthmark, another age-old tradition.

'Move on.' He needed to pause at a still shot of a straight face. Easier said than done, when this girl fought faster than an angered demon. Sighing, he fast forwarded again.

'No, no, no - argh. Too fast.' She had cut down the droid. The holo blacked out. He sighed.

'Seems we gotta rewind...'

He trailed off when the holo flickered again. Some droids did that. A glitch that even after it was destroyed the backup power still kept it running for a few seconds before it shut down completely.

A fuzzier image materialized. Now she knelt on the grass beside her father, eyes wide, clutching his hand, shaking her head in disbelief, craning to catch his last words.

_'Go...to Coruscant...'_

Her next destination, he supposed.

The holo faded out for good.

R5 bleeped again, snapping him out of his reverie.

'H-huh? Oops. Yeah?'

The droid chirped again.

'No, no, no need to replay for now. But download that memory, we're gonna need it again.'

More beeps.

'We're heading for Coruscant next, buddy.' There was probably no other chance of getting her here. He would let her off this time, but she would be in for it the very next time he saw her. Coruscant was huge, he knew, but he would try to catch her in this spaceport and keep tabs on her until she reached a place where blaster shots were less likely to startle the public so badly.

And Mandalorians did not show mercy to their enemies.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

She strode through the crowded hangar, clutching her things close and reaching out with the Force. Pa had taught her this: _listen to a sea of sounds and pick out one, hearing it in detail. _She had used it before to listen out for the calls of the animals, sometimes to locate game and sometimes simply to appreciate each inhabitant of the jungle, each separate life form. Now she could sift through individual conversations taking place around the hangar.

_'No, I don't have that much you idiot...'_

_'So I met this chick down in the Mid Rim...'_

_'Naw, can't go to Coruscant from here, it's too far...'_

_'What are YOU looking at, tail-head!?...'_

_'Yeah, sorry, that's gonna have to wait. We gotta drop this shipment off at Corellia first...'_

Corellia. If she got her facts right it had one of the largest shipyards in the galaxy. Perfect to mingle and possibly lose anyone tailing her - like _that _creep earlier on. And it was in the Inner Core - close to Coruscant.

She honed in on the conversation, following its call in the Force, weaving through the crowd. As she got closer and closer the scene materialised: a streetwise-looking Human spacer - a smuggler by the looks of him, with a tattooed co-pilot with a wild fiery mane of red hair on one side of his head, talking to a fellow Togruta crewmate in a black jumpsuit and safety goggles. A human-like droid with rather stiff arms and dull grey covering stood behind them, an assistant of some sort...

'We'll leave at dusk, boys. You guys go around, check out the place, have some fun, but latecomers are stuck here, okay?' The Human joked. Jaecyn ducked behind a stack of crates.

'Yeah, yeah, you just stay here and don't worry your pretty head, boss-man.' The co-pilot grinned.

'You know, you _would _be better off if you learned to control that smart mouth of yours.' The boss snarked back.

'Oh, and good job on the repairs.' The Human clapped the Togruta on the shoulder. 'Don't know what I'd do without an engineer like you.'

The Togruta held up his hand in modesty.

'You ain't coming, boss?'

'Nah. I'm tired, gonna go inside, nap awhile.'

Jaecyn checked her reflection in the smooth metal of the crates, hoping this attempt to cross-dress was convincing enough. Young females were always at a disadvantage in seedy areas like this...

Looking up she realised the Human was inside the ship and the loading ramp was retracting. She slipped inside just before it closed.

She wouldn't reveal herself. Not unless necessary. Staying hidden was the most important -

'Hello? Is someone there?' An electronic voice asked.

Whirling around, Jaecyn gasped. She had forgotten about the droid. _Droids. _Their presence was almost indetectable.

'Umm - ' She squeaked out, forgetting to deepen her voice.

'I do not believe you are one of our crew members. Might I inquire as to why you are aboard this vessel?' The golden eyes twitched in the darkness, unblinking.

'I...uh...' She stood up, lowering her pitch to something sounding more like Junyo and speaking her best Basic. 'Your boss...hired me as an assistant.'

'I don't remember doing that.' Another voice spoke - this time organic, and charged with hostility. She heard a laser pistol clicking.

'What the hell are you doing on my ship?' Remond had been looking forward to a good nap on his cruiser, and now he had to deal with this intruder. How this local kid had gotten past the guard droids was baffling, how he had sneaked aboard his prized cruiser even more beyond him. _Is he even a boy? _Men and women's clothing on this planet was impossible to distinguish for him, but this kid looked and sounded like one, if his voice stated puberty had not fully passed yet...

The local held up his hands. 'Please sir, we can solve this peacefully. I didn't come here looking for trouble.'

Remond lowered his pistol. 'Well, well. A local who can actually speak Basic.'

The boy squared his shoulders, a flicker of irritation in his eye.

'It's your people's most important celebration tonight, isn't it? Why ain't you out there?'

'Because I need to leave. I'm willing to work for you in return for a ride off of here.'

'Don't you know the rules, kid? You can't leave this planet, just as I can't go any further than this city.'

'What makes you so sure anyone will know?'

Of course there was nothing beyond the guards at the port, he knew. He had simply said that to try to get this kid to leave. 'Listen, do I look like a babysitter to you?'

'No sir. But you do look like an experienced enough man who also happens to be kind enough to give a poor homeless boy a lift.'

He scoffed and waved the kid off. 'Enough with the flattery.'

'Just one trip, to Corellia. I'll beat it after that, I can find my own way. I promise.'

_So the kid was spying on us. Well_. It would be dangerous having someone blab about their whereabouts, anyway.

'What's your name?'

The kid was silent for an almost imperceptible moment. 'Tsuma.' _Probably a false name. Oh well, not like it's uncommon anyway._

'Hmm...all right. But to Corellia only.' The kid's eyes lit up.

'Now come on, _Tsuma_. I need some things before we leave. But seeing that you...' By the looks of him he probably _had _no experience with machinery and droids. 'Are obviously inexperienced,' He waved the youngster from top to bottom. 'I'm gonna have to show ya a thing or two. Now I'm only gonna say this once: I'm not a patient teacher, or a very lenient one.' The kid grinned and dipped his head in thanks.

'Let's get started.' He motioned for the kid to follow him to the cockpit.

* * *

Jaecyn wasn't sure if the captain really needed those things and was testing her skill as an assistant, or if he was simply trying to make her miss his transport. _Maybe it's both. Maybe only those truly worthy can be scoundrels like him._

She laughed at the irony.

The datapad felt heavy and strangely bulky in her hand - the electronic device was a far cry from the binded books and scrolls she'd grown up with. The memory of Pa sitting opposite her as a toddler, guiding her small hands to trace out her letters and words...

She swallowed the lump and stared at the glaring screen. All the items were accounted for - the smaller ones she carried around with her. Those like the supplies the captain had said he was going to pick up would be delivered straight to the ship from the supplier that had arranged to meet him in this system on the other side of the hangar.

The man - Remond - had said he would start simple. The list only had several items - but Jaecyn had never even seen them before even though she knew those names were spare parts and tools used on freighters like his. Slightly embarrassed, she had asked what those things were. Mr. Remond, almost sensing her lack of technical expertise, had been kind enough to show her how to activate some moving holopictures also in the datapad - just by touching the screen. That had amazed her even more than the credit chip had, so much that it had made him chuckle.

'Everything's here, sir.' She approached Captain Remond at the loading ramp.

The captain looked through the nylon sack he had loaned her. 'No need to call me sir.' He looked up and smirked. 'Just call me boss.'

'Sure, boss.' They laughed.

'It's almost afternoon. I've got another task for you: get the other two back here before dusk.' Remond clapped her on the shoulder.

She froze. Going out there again...

'Is there a problem?'

Jaecyn started. 'Um, no boss. I was just wondering...where should I start?'

'Kovaar, the Togruta guy - you know what a Togruta is, right?' Jaecyn nodded. 'Yeah, he's the orange-skinned one. A decent soul, but between you and me, he doesn't know how have fun like we men usually do. Drinks, women, a good brawl - am I right or am I right?' Remond elbowed toward her and they laughed again. 'He'll be keepin' to himself mostly, probably checkin' out all the ships in this place and thinkin' about upgrades for our ship. Typical tech geek.'

'What's a geek?' Jaecyn was confused.

'What's a geek? _What's a geek_! Oh gods!' Remond bawled with laughter. 'A feller who's obsessed with technology, all the cool metal stuff. But if you ever decide to assemble a crew like mine in future, better get someone like him. He'll keep everything shipshape.' He waved at his ship. 'It could happen. Even the not-so-smart ones can easily put together a band of three or four and go adventurin'. And you're not as dim as I previously thought.' Jaecyn laughed and shook her head. 'A good sabacc player leaves his best cards for last, boss.'

'Yeah, that's true.' Remond took a swig of drink. 'If I know Zacko - he's the smart-mouth with the punk tattoos all over his head - he'll be tryin' ta pick up chicks. Maybe even try and drag poor Kovaar along.' He guffawed. _  
_

'So, I'll see you three at dusk. And I mean what I said about latecomers.' He pointed a finger at her, and went back up the ramp. Jaecyn nodded in reply. Going out there again...if she could find the crew and hightail it fast enough before she got caught again...

She went to a large grooved facade at the hangar wall and climbed to the top. It didn't take long for her to spot a pair of blue-and-white-striped montrals sticking above the rest of the crowd. She climbed sideways along the facade and dropped to the ground noiselessly a short distance behind him.

'Are you...Kovaar?' The Togruta turned around. He towered over both of his crewmates, and was packed with bulging muscles to boot.

'Whaddaya want kid?'

Jaecyn jerked a thumb back toward Remond's ship. 'Mr. Remond asked me to come get you and the other guy.'

'Well, good thing you found me.' the Togruta grinned. 'It won't be so easy finding Zacko, though.'

'Where should we start?'

'Try the taverns or the brothels. The more women there are in one place, the more likely he's going to be there, even though he doesn't have any money to pay them with. Boss and I always make sure of that.' The Togruta shook his head. 'Knowing Remond he doesn't like to associate too much with anyone he isn't doing business with. Did he hire you or something?' Kovaar looked down at her.

'Yeah. I'm Tsuma.' Jaecyn held a hand up toward him.

'Nice to meet you, new crewmate. It's good to finally have someone around the ship other than Zacko.' Kovaar chuckled and shook it. 'Wait...You're a local, aren't you? Doesn't that mean - '

'It's all right, Kovaar. I got in here without getting caught. I think I can cook something up to get out and back in with Zacko again.' Jaecyn went to the wooden side of the tall fence, out of the guard droids' sight, and started climbing, careful not to make her Force-enhanced agility too obvious.

Kovaar stared after her. 'You're on your own on this one, I'm afraid. I can't climb like you do anymore. Do you know how to find him? Did Remond show you a holopicture of him or something?'

'I know what he looks like, don't worry!' Jaecyn flipped over the wall.

Right into another alley, this time landing on the window-sill of a second-floor room in a tavern. Thankfully its occupants, a fat foreign man and a local girl that looked too pretty for him were drunk and passed out. Some taverns, in order to make an extra coin or two, catered specially to the foreigners that passed through the hangar and needed a rest; most provided drinks on the ground floor and women on the upper floors. Bottles she suspected used to contain the tavern's wine were strewn about the place. _Disgusting men like him._ Swiping the small pouch of Republic credits left conveniently on the table she stole downstairs. _If his sleeves are big enough for him to drink and pay for services he obviously can spare a few._ She needed some anyway, for after Corellia.

The place was relatively quiet - it only got crowded at night. So that probably meant the bartender was taking the chance to go out and restock on supplies. There was only one customer, and at least two Twi'lek girls on his lap - apparently not only local comfort women looked for a quick buck in these areas. She could barely see the tattoos on his head behind the chests blocking his face. He was boasting something about one of his exploits on gods-knew-what moon and how he single-handedly saved the entire crew. The girls clearly were not interested in a word he was saying, but were just playing along, possibly hoping they would get a bigger tip if they appeared attentive enough.

Annoyed, she snapped at him. 'Hey! Zacko! You get out of here this instant!'

Zacko stopped and squinted at her, motioning for the girls to get off his lap. 'Huh, well, well...who do you think you are? I don't like your tone much, you know.'

One of the girls shot her a disdainful look. 'Listen, _boy_,' they purred, accent thick. 'If you want it so badly, you're going to have to pay more than this man here. And wait your turn.'

'Careful now, you don't wanna get hurt.' The other stroked a finger on her head.

Jaecyn rolled her eyes and pushed their hands aside. 'Boss-man's calling. You stay here any longer and we'll be stuck here the rest of the year!'

'Oh?' Zacko folded his arms. 'Why should I trust every little squirt who comes to me saying the boss-man's calling?'

He was asking for proof that she was on his side. Jaecyn folded her arms back at him.

'You don't even have money to pay these ladies to begin with. _Mr. Remond_ makes sure of that.'

Zacko turned redder than the mane of hair on his head as the two Twi'lek women shot him dirty glares.

'Nice try, _free-rider_.' One shoved him back into the seat.

'Come on, let's go find someone who actually _can _pay up.' They stalked out of the tavern.

Zacko was still stuttering. 'Well, _thanks _a _lot!'_

'I'm damned well serious, guy. Let's get going!' Jaecyn barked, cutting off his whining. She wanted to be out of here as fast as possible.

'Okay, okay, drill sergeant.' Zacko sighed, shucked his shoulders forward and stalked out, fists jammed in pockets.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

Thank the Force she didn't have to look far to find Zacko. But the sun was setting and she wasn't about to stick around to find out if Remond was a man of his word.

She pushed him toward the hangar. 'Go. Get to the ship.'

Zacko eyed her warily. 'Lemme get this straight. You're a local, and you're coming with _us_?' He jerked a thumb at the guarded gates. 'How are you gonna - '

'I'll see you on the other side.' She ran off into the alleys to reach and scale the unguarded wall one last time. But this time the darkness - or was she going too fast to register her surroundings? Or was it the ground, slippery with melting snow? - betrayed her. She tripped over something.

'_AH - _what the - '

She landed flat on her face, shocked. How, _how_ did she not see it coming?

She heard an equally agitated series of robotic curses and something whir towards the open street. But by the time she got up and dusted herself it was gone.

After staring for a moment she started to climb to the rooftop, this time mindful of the slick wet roof tiles and building facade.

Leaping to the wall she slid down and ran till she reached the ship.

'Hmm. Almost late, weren't you.' Remond teased, clapped a hand on her shoulder and went up the ramp.

Just then a loud cheer sounded from the city square opposite the hangar. She thought she could hear firecrackers, and could almost see the dancers and performers rolling in the new year and a whole lot of coins from onlookers. All the residents were gone from their homes and taverns were closed for the night, so on her side of the city near the hangar it was dead quiet.

Except for a loud shriek from the top of the hangar wall, near where she had leapt over just minutes ago. Looking up she saw it - with azure eyes glowing in the dark, silver-and-gold-brown feathers lit in the light of the two moons was a _real-life shan bird._ It leveled its piercing gaze on her for a moment before spreading its double wings and taking to the skies. She was reminded briefly of Pa glaring at her before he uttered his dying words. Ammi-ma used to say that when people died, before joining the ancestors they would come back in a different form to see their living loved ones one last time before departing for good.

She smiled, briefly, and turned to go up the ramp.

All the crew members were in the cockpit, even the assistant droid. She could hear Zacko's voice yelling exasperatedly.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa. So you're saying you're picking up a poor little boy who doesn't know what a hyperdrive is, and you're planning to _hire him as an assistant_!?'

'Hey, I personally told the kid get you both back here by sundown about a couple hours before the deadline, and here you are. Punctuality isn't very easy to find in the worlds out there. Yes, I'm tallking to you, Zacko.' Remond shot back.

'Okay, okay, you've got a soft spot for the kid. Now just how do you propose we get a person without identification past authorities on Corellia?'

'He's...got a point, you know.' Kovaar spoke up slowly.

'Gods, what happened to your spines, boys? Aren't we called smugglers for a reason?'

'But it's not like we can just stuff him in the back with the crates!'

The robotic voice chimed in. 'On the contrary, there is quite a bit of room left, even with the new...shipments we must deliver. I do believe a teenage boy would fit quite well and have room to spare.'

'Tsuma, ya there?' Remond called out.

Jaecyn emerged from the dark corridor into the lit cockpit.

'Tsuma, this is G-3PX. You've been acquainted.' Remond waved to the droid.

'Pleased to...meet you.' Did it make sense to greet a droid?

'Why, what good manners! They don't come often in the field of business I work in, and with the owners I have! I am G-3PX, at your service. I am fluent in over eight million forms of communication - '

'_Wow._' Jaecyn's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

'Don't be surprised. There's not much technology can't do these days.' Remond stared at her. 'If you're thinking the droid took the time to learn all that, think again. There's something called programming.'

'What's programming?'

'There will be plenty of time to discuss that after we take off. What say we get outta here first?' Kovaar asked.

'Yeah, better to be caught by one planet's authorities than two. Let's beat it before those guards are onto us.' Zacko jumped into the pilot's seat.

'That's my seat. Scram.' Remond barked. Zacko threw his hands up and moved to the opposite chair. Remond motioned to Jaecyn.

'Now, this is how we start a ship's engines. They're important - practically the life force of the ship itself. Without engines, a ship's as good as dead. Even worse if you're stuck in space.' Remond held up a small cylinder that fit snugly into his fist. 'This is the activation cylinder.' He inserted it into a small hole on the control panel. The whole room suddenly hummed to life. 'Can't start the ship without it.'

'Aw, come on! This is like teaching numbers to a baby!' Zacko threw his head back.

'This panel of buttons here, most importantly the controllers, lets us control the ship.' Remond pressed a button and took a handle-shaped metal gadget protruding from the panel. Jaecyn stumbled slightly as she felt the entire place lift upward. She laughed in wonder before she could stop herself.

'First flight's fun, no?' Kovaar chuckled. 'I remember my first flight.'

'He spent a large part of his childhood on Shili.' Remond added. 'The home planet of the Togruta. He worked with ships for most of his youth, but never actually worked _on_ one till he was around your age. Real talent he had, too, when I first found him.'

'Enough about me now. Normally people use manual control for takeoff and landing. It's a delicate, complicated process - if you're not paying close attention you could crash the ship and get yourself killed.'

'And for the in-between?' Jaecyn asked.

They were nearing the atmosphere. Before she knew it everything outside the ship was black and dotted with diamond-like stars.

'We set the coordinates for Corellia.' Kovaar stepped up and pressed a few buttons on the touchscreen navicomputer.

'And then?'

'Hyperspace.' He thrusted a single-handed controller forward on the panel.

The stars blended and stretched as the engines suddenly thrummed louder, as if summoning all effort for a large burst of speed, and they shot forward into a tunnel of light.

Jaecyn let out a yell of exhilaration before remembering she was supposed to talk - and scream - in a teenage boy's pitch. Thankfully they didn't seem to notice.

'It's great, isn't it?' Kovaar called over the noise.

She nodded back, eyes wide in awe.

'Damn, you scream like a girl, kiddo.' Zacko shook his head.

* * *

He couldn't help but pride himself on his ingenuity. The girl would probably be able to sense anyone within a ten-meter radius of her with the intention to kill her, but she was too naive to suspect a droid.

Arkay rolled into the alley and approached him.

'Is it done?'

The astromech chirped and bleeped in reply.

'Ha! Good one, man!'

More beeps.

'Well that's weird. If she could sense me from so far away how would she not see you right under her nose?'

The droid let out a lengthy string of whistles and beeps.

'According to _your_ memory banks? Those wizards can only detect life-forms? How d'you know?'

Arkay chortled indignantly.

'Hey. No wisecracks about my lack of experience. Don't think you're that much above me just 'cause you've been around serving spacers for generations, either.' He got up and started walking. 'As long as we can keep an eye on her, it should be all right. Don't show up for a while, and give her time to drop her guard, then strike when she least expects it.' Just like the shriek-hawk - it was too fast and sneaky to tackle up front. You had to track it slowly, patiently, wait for the right opportunity.

'Come on. About time we got outta here, too.'

* * *

'And this is the gun turret.' Kovaar stood before her in a side room from the bridge. '250 volt-units of firepower in this baby, couple shots is enough to vapourise a small asteroid.' He stroked the gun controls affectionately.

'Cool, will we get to use it?'

'We'll see. If hostiles show up we may have to fend them off.'

'Hostiles...?' Jaecyn stopped.

'We've been lucky so far, kid. Don't get your pants in a twist.' He clapped her on the shoulder.

'Wait, you said this ship's running power is split among the different parts of the ship...Does that mean that the engines and the hyperdrive and the shields and everything else will get a smaller share of power when we use the guns?'

'Correct.'

'Won't it run out?'

'See, our fuel's used at a rather slow rate in space, and even less is used when we're not in hyperspace. You ever heard of inertia?'

'Yeah...objects move at an unchanged speed or something...' She remembered Pa rolling a ball across the clearing back home when she was small and explaining basic physics to her.

'Ever heard of friction?'

'When two sides get into a fight?' Jaecyn joked.

Kovaar laughed and ruffled her hair. 'I mean the one with two surfaces rubbing, jester. The reason why things slow after awhile when you're dirtside, is 'cos they're in friction with the ground, or the water, even the air.'

'The air?'

'Believe it or not, air particles cause friction too.'

'So since there's no air in space...there isn't much friction to slow the ship down. So you don't need that much fuel to keep it going at a constant speed.'

'Looks like somebody's been teaching you basic laws of matter.'

'Well, out here in the real galaxy...they do matter.'

'You know, if you really run out of career options, I hear a few clubs on Coruscant need a stand-up comedian.' Kovaar chuckled.

'Clubs? You mean, like taverns? What are they like?'

'Well there are those that just let people drag their tired feet in for a drink. There are those that let the restless get on their feet and dance all night long, dance till ya drop.' He sang the last eight words. 'It's a..new song on the Holonet.'

'The media channel?' Jaecyn's eyes widened. She had only ever heard about it. Through it you could see just about anything happening on the other side of the galaxy, or so they said.

'Music, drama serials, news reports, you name it, they got it.'

'What's it look like?'

'Oh, it isn't really a _thing_ exactly, it's more of a - they have headquarters, of course, but - how do I explain this - ' He waved his hands, as if holding an imaginary object. 'You know what broadcasting is, right?'

She nodded slowly. 'Vaguely...is it that thing where you have to be in range to detect and - something about connection?'

'Not quite, but close enough. When we get to a place that actually _has_ a channel I'll show ya.'

'Sounds good. Anything else to this?'

'We're dropping out of hyperspace in a bit.' Kovaar checked the ship's running time on the dashboard.

'What's Corellia like?' Jaecyn followed him back to the bridge.

'Oh, you don't even have to land on it to know it's the shipping centre of the galaxy. It's got freighters, yachts, starfighters of all shapes and sizes. Home planet to lots of smugglers, too. Like Remond. Famous for its wines, too. Dirtside, they've got nice green meadows, huge oceans, lots of forests, rolling hills...it has Alderaan's natural beauty, and space traffic that could compare to Coruscant's.'

As they passed a window the tunnel of light ended, and they dropped out into black space again.

'Does Corellia have any transports to Coruscant?'

'Well, you'll need an identification first - '

Out of the blue the ship rocked violently.

'What in the hells - ?' Kovaar's rich, confident timbre suddenly had a hint of surprise. He dashed to the bridge.

'THEY'RE ON TO US!' Zacko screamed.

'Who!?'

'Gods _damn _those bloodsucking _parasites_!' Remond growled. Zacko rammed the controls frantically, trying to speed to the safety of the shipyards. The ship burst forward for a moment before it was caught by an invisible force and pulled backwards.

'They've engaged their tractor beam!' Zacko panicked.

'Quit being a wimp! Get your rifle and hide in that safe hiding place I told you about! And shut down G-3 and take him with you! Kovaar, you - where's Tsuma!?' Remond barked. Kovaar whirled around and realised, to his horror, that the boy was gone.

'Go find Tsuma, bring him to the safe hiding place, and stay there! If we're lucky they may just take the cargo and beat it.'

'And...if we're not?' Kovaar ventured.

'They'll rob us blind, shoot us and take our ship. Now go. Hide! They're cutting the doors!'

'What about you!?'

'Someone's gotta be there to tell them off, or they'll start searching the ship and find the rest of us. You need to protect the rest.' He meant to fool them into thinking he was the only one aboard.

'No! You can't risk your life like - '

'_GO!_' Remond hissed.

Kovaar shot him a reluctant glance, and ran to find the other crewmates.

Remond pressed himself against the wall in the side corridor to the main hold. Yep. Fusion cutters. Damn things could cut just about anything - probably only second to a Jedi's lightsaber. He _should_ have taken up on that offer for laser shield-proofing.

The cut section of the wall was kicked to the ground, and a boarding party of six streamed in with blaster rifles. Two Twi'leks, three Humans. Worse, one of them was a Wookiee. Seemed there was no winning this one.

Another one - likely their boss - strode in as if the place were his living room, complete with vest covered in pistols and thermal detonators. All he was missing was a Kowakian monkey-lizard on his shoulder.

This was gonna be a long night.

'Boss, where do we start lookin'?' asked a rather scruffy Human who probably was not as bright as he looked.

'You. Go with him and look for anything valuable.' the boss snapped back, waving to him and one of the Twi'leks. He motioned to the Wookiee. 'Look for the crew. Round 'em up and bring 'em here.' There was a grunt, a scratch of the head and heavy footsteps trudged down the main corridor. _Ha. Only fools look in the predictable places - with so much noise._

They were just the trying-to-get-rich-quick type, then.

Remond stealthily set his pistol to stun, and shot the biggest pirate after the Wookiee.

'Someone's here!' Two of the pirates darted in his direction.

Remond ran for a while, leading them away from the hiding-place. Give them a small chase, so that when they caught him they would think there were no surprises left on this ship. He ran to a dead end, getting there before the pirates did so he could activate the long-distance transmitter on his comlink.

'Get back here!' One of the pirates whacked him in the face with the butt of his rifle.

He put up a struggle, not enough to resist them, but just enough for them to not get suspicious. Finally he allowed them to drag him back to the main hold.

They shoved him face flat on the floor at their boss's feet. The master grabbed Remond's shirt and pulled him up.

'Where's your cargo?'

'Don't talk like you own my ship, _runt_.'

One thing about pirates: if they meant business and were not afraid to kill, always do as they told you. If they meant business but had no balls to get in trouble with authorities for murder, don't end up being a bigger pushover than them or they would walk all over you. But always be mindful of their rifles. If there was one thing he learned from experience, it was always better to lose a shipment, or even lose a job, than to lose your life.

The boss punched him hard, sending him to the floor. _Damn, that's gotta break a tooth or two. _

'When me and my gang are on your ship, you better do as we tell ya, you piece of bantha fodder. _Where's my loot_?_' _He picked Remond up again by the neck and started squeezing.

'Cargo hold's all the way down the corridor.' He could taste blood.

'Good boy.' The pirate grinned, yellow teeth and the stench of alcohol filling Remond's face. He drew his pistol.

Oh _no. _This was not part of the plan. Remond tried to get up but found himself pinned down by the other two. Then the pirate pulled the trigger and all went black.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

Jaecyn nearly panicked when she saw the kind man who had taken her in collapse to the floor. _Patience. Deep breaths. Calm yourself._

The pirates still had blasters, she was still outnumbered and in unfamiliar terrain, and she already had enough enemies after her. It was risky - she could go further down the one-way wrong path if she did not learn to control herself. She could not do to them what she did to the ones who killed - she had to kill the mercenaries back home because she knew there would be no one else to help her and the village. The big-sleeved were more interested in their own interests than putting more money into keeping the people safe. Here where legislation was undoubtedly better, if word got out there was a killer Jedi on the loose, she was sure it would not only be the authorities of Corellia that would take notice.

Besides, if Remond was dead why would they bother binding his hands and tying him to the pipes that ran along the wall? Why would the boss order one of his men to stand guard over their prisoner while the rest fanned out across the ship? Reaching out with the Force she sighed with relief as she found him not dead, but unconscious. The pistol must have been set to stun.

Pa used to say she was built not for open, outright offense but stealthy tracking.

Sneaking away she started looking for the pirates that had fanned out across the ship.

Ahead of her she spied a large, shaggy figure thumping towards a wall. _The secret hold Remond mentioned..._She could almost imagine Zacko inside, clutching his rifle and whimpering.

Again something flashed across her mind: she and the other children sitting in front of Wuying-ayah and his fireplace back in the village as he recounted a tale of one of his shenanigans with much gusto. _Wookiees. It's never wise to try and fight one. They look strong enough to chop down one of those trees outside with their bare hands. Well I can tell you they're actually twice that strong. And their strength is only outdone by their animal instincts. But that can also be a weakness..__._

The ship's pantry was ten paces to her left. With quick steps she ran towards it, making just enough noise to turn the Wookiee's head.

Rummaging around in the deep freeze food locker she found what she was looking for. A large chunk of meat.

Reaching into her pack she allowed herself just this one use of her lightsaber. She made a quick slice at the chunk and it started to smoke. Seconds later she could hear a growl and footsteps pounding louder and louder -

The Wookiee, following his nose and the animal urge of hunger, ran through the open door of the pantry to find - he grunted in awe. Dropping his bowcaster he rushed over, and started cramming his face full of the delicious, mouth-watering, tongue-tingling barbecued bantha leg, not even noticing when the door slid shut.

Jaecyn plunged her lightsaber into the door panel, making sure it destroyed the controls on the inside.

Hmm. She picked up the weapon the Wookiee had dropped. Interesting. It looked like a crossbow of some sort. But the string wouldn't budge - perhaps it was customised for his tremendous strength. Shrugging she went off in search of the rest.

* * *

The Human and the Twi'lek stood outside the cargo hold.

'Hurry up with the hacking man!' The Twi'lek urged.

Suddenly a hushed Wookiee growl came from the corridor.

'Hey look.' They turned. The tip of a bowcaster poked around the corner and beckoned to them.

'Big guy's callin' to us. You keep slicin', I'll see what he wants.' The Twi'lek walked over.

'Okay.' The Human went on with his work, not seeing his partner get yanked away with a muffled yell.

Finally he cracked the blast door's code and called his companions as the doors opened. 'Hey guys.' No answer.

'Dude. You there?' He turned, and something whacked him in the face.

Jaecyn bent to check if he was out cold before locking the two unconscious bodies in the cargo hold. She looked at the control panel. The only controls on the inside opened the loading ramp that led outside the ship - they probably wouldn't want to risk _that_ as soon as they woke up. As an afterthought she set the cargo hold's storage temperature to near freezing, just like Kovaar showed her - she had learned much from him about electronics and ships in the hours in hyperspace - and smirked to herself. _Three down, four to go._

* * *

The pirate boss stood and watched as his men grabbed the valuables in the ship's bridge. They would have use for the captain later, to help them land the ship as soon as they were done and meet up with the rest of his gang. For now they would stay in space, away from help's reach.

'Put some back into it boys! We ain't got all day!' He pulled out his comlink and contacted the other two he sent to the cargo hold.

'No answer? Damn thing. I'll rob the supplier first chance I get.' He started whacking it against his palm, then tried contacting his Wookiee henchman.

A desperate wail over the comlink nearly deafened him.

'Where the poodoo are you, hairball!?'

A louder cry.

'_WHAT - _locked in the damn _kitchen! _What in hells have I been telling you about self-control!? Huh? Goods before foods?' He roared. 'What are you, too stupid to even press a button and get outta there?'_  
_

More grunts.

'Been _burnt?_' What in hells... 'I'm comin', I'm comin'. Now stay put.' He turned off the comlink and laughed at his own joke before barking out to his henchmen.

'You, get the fusion cutter and follow me. You stay here and keep at it.'

'You the boss, boss.' The one without the fusion cutter had his back turned to the door. Hearing the boss turn on his heel and walk out with the other guy he rolled his eyes and started grumbling to himself.

'I knew I shoulda stayed in school. Damn bosses, they the same no matter where I go. Always orderin' us around like we their dogs or sumthin'.'

'Especially when they're pirates, right?'

'Wait - who's there!?' He whirled around, drawing his pistol. The doorway was empty. Slowly lowering his pistol he decided his imagination was acting up. 'Huh. Gotta stop on those deathsticks.'

Suddenly something crashed on him from above and whipped a cloth bag onto his head before he hit the ground.

Jaecyn looked around as the pirate thrashed and tried to get up. A large empty closet stood in the corner. Getting off him she made a quick wave of her hand and sent him tumbling into the closet, then flicked her wrist again to close the door on him. A beep from the closet told her it was locked.

* * *

'Guuh...' Remond's head spun. He shook his head, squinted, cringed. Stun pistols felt worse than hangovers.

He tried lifting his hands to wipe his face, only to find them bound behind him. To top it off he was backed up against the hard wall pipes. Yep. Being knocked out sure was worse than the worst hangover.

'Morning sunshine.' His eyes focused onto the leering face of a Twi'lek. One with a rifle and a sly grin on his face.

'Ugh.' That grin reminded him of the various Twi'lek comfort women Zacko sometimes brought back to "his very own" ship to show off. He had heard of male Twi'leks working in the same field. He had also heard, to a lesser extent, of males in that field catering to customers who were not necessarily women. This fellow must have found the pirate life more interesting, but could not quite leave his former career behind.

He grinned back. 'Hey. Wanna...get outta this room and...find a place, have some fun? You'll have to untie me first, though.'

The Twi'lek chuckled. 'Nice try, _captain._ But too bad the boss says you'll be stuck here till we get all our loot.' He stood over Remond, and slowly squatted down till he was sitting on Remond's lap. 'But we can do that right here...' He tossed his rifle aside so both his hands were free. Remond's eyes widened in horror.

'No, get off me!'

'Hold still, you - ' His words were cut off by a whack to his head. He slunk to the ground, with Tsuma standing behind triumphantly with the rifle in his hands.

'Hey, you little rascal!' Remond laughed with relief. 'I was worried about - I mean, that was very disobedient of you, running off like that without captain's orders!'

'Sorry boss.' the boy smirked back before reaching for the binders and jiggling them. 'How do these come off?'

'Check him for keys.' Remond nodded to the fallen pirate.

Tsuma rummaged in the Twi'lek's pockets for a while, then held up a small keycard. 'Yeah, that should be it.'

The boy reached behind and freed Remond, who stood up in relief rubbing his wrists.

'There's still three left.' Tsuma said, chaining the pirate to the pipes.

'You mean six. Seven boarded our ship.'

'Let's just say one of them's having a good meal, two are chilling out and another one's having wardrobe trouble.'

Remond stared at the boy. 'What - ?'_  
_

'I took care of four of those imps.'

'You what?'

'Your turn to be guard, boss. I'll find those akk-fleas.' Tsuma said a little too eagerly before running back down the corridor. Remond shook his head, picking up the rifle. _He_ took out four pirates? This was definitely no ordinary kid.

* * *

If the Wookiee got out all hell would break loose. She ran down the corridor and stopped just at the corner that led to the pantry. She heard a loud, stretched noise, similar to what her lightsaber made when plunged into metal but more high-pitched and annoying. They were using the laser tool they had used to break onto the ship in the first place.

She didn't have to look behind her to know someone was sneaking up behind her. Instinctively she jabbed her elbow back as hard as she could, only to have it caught by a large, strong palm.

She whirled around and threw a punch before remembering that the two pirates just around the corner were the only ones left. Luckily whoever grabbed her was fast enough to duck.

'Kovaar!' She exclaimed as softly as she could in relief.

The familiar orange face smirked back at her, before he took a stern expression.

'I've been looking all over for you, you know that?' He spoke as if reprimanding a young child who had strayed too far away.

Jaecyn ignored him. 'We need to find a plan to get rid of these two before they cut the Wookiee out of there!'

'All right, I'll lecture you later. Any ideas, genius?'

'Do you think they have blasters?'

Kovaar sighed in exasperation. 'Why do you think they're called pirates?'

'Are you strong enough to use this?' Jaecyn showed him the crossbow.

'A bowcaster? It's designed only for Wookiee use!'

'I kinda figured that out. But I thought you looked strong enough...'

'Well I suppose I _could _give it a shot...' Jaecyn stuffed her fist in her mouth to keep from laughing at the pun.

Kovaar tugged the string as hard as he could, and shook his head. 'Primitive weapons aren't my forte. The ball bearings are stuck, and I don't know how to - '

Just then the pirates shouted something to the Wookiee along the lines of 'almost there'.

Jaecyn's head whipped around. 'Uh-oh.' She grabbed it back from him, and ran around the corner into the pirates' line of sight.

'Hey, there's one!' They started firing at her. Jaecyn ran in the opposite direction, away from the blaster fire. As she passed the opposite wall she whacked the bowcaster as hard as she could against it. As it broke open a whole load of small metal beads gushed out towards the pirates' feet as they started running after her.

Kovaar wanted to bawl with laughter as they slipped, yelling and cursing creatively. But instead he put on his fiercest snarl, picked both up by the collars of their shirts before they could recover and slammed their heads together. That would knock them out for minutes in the least, and the worst it would give them was a concussion.

'Tsuma!' Carefully dodging the ball bearings skittering on the floor he went looking for the youngster.

'I guess that takes care of all of them.' Jaecyn spoke up behind him.

'What!' Kovaar jumped, startled. She stood, grinning at his reaction.

'Yes. Now I can lecture you. On this ship no one goes anywhere without captain's orders! You know I even had to look for you when I could be helping Remond?' Kovaar held a warning finger in front of her.

'Sorry.'

'And as your punishment - ' Kovaar was cut off by a loud blare coming from the ship's main hold.

_'This is the Corellian Transit Patrol. All personnel aboard show yourselves!'_

'Uh-oh.' Jaecyn said for the both of them.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

The transit inspector eyed the three crew members his droids had rounded up in the main hold.

'Really, _thank _you, Officer, for saving us from those terrible men!' Remond tried to appear as grateful as possible, butter him up so he would get the hell off his ship as fast as possible. And preferably take the damned droids combing the ship with him.

Two of the droids shoved the pirates, cursing under their breath, into the Transit Patrol ship. Several more ships outside were towing the pirates' brig and their freighter towards Corellia's surface.

'No need to thank me, Captain. It's our job to make sure folks like you don't get into scrapes you can't handle.' He smirked back at them, a half-smile on his lips, the kind that made most women swoon and most men gag. Zacko bristled, trying not to make a face.

'But before we go, why not we see what's in the back?'

Oh no. Not good.

A droid appeared beside the officer to lead him to the cargo hold, and he strutted down the hall, Remond following swiftly after.

'Officer, I assure you we are not carrying anything that violates Corellia's shipping laws. As I've said before, nothing but spices!'

'Come on. There's got to be a reason why you didn't call us sooner.' Two droids carried a crate out of the hold. 'Time for the moment of truth.' He said smugly as the droids pried the crate open. Neat rows of scented, well-preserved herbs stared back at them.

The officer's smirk turned into a scowl.

'Well, don't just stand there, inspect every crate in here!' He seemed almost desperate for a reason to arrest the crew.

Suddenly a voice, calm and commanding, told him not to inspect any more crates. For some strange reason he followed it, without even questioning why.

'I will not inspect any more of the crates.'

The voice told him to wrap up his case, take the droids back to his ship, arrest the pirates and allow the crew to go free.

'Guard units, return to ship. We're wrapping up this case. The pirates are coming to detention. The rest of you, go free.' He turned on his heel, and it was not until he had returned to the bridge of his own ship that he snapped out of his trance and wonder what in Corellia's hells had he been thinking, letting the suspicious crew of smugglers go free.

* * *

As the droids and the inspector retreated Remond, Kovaar and Zacko stared at her like she had suddenly sprouted lekku.

'What?' She shrugged back at them, trying to appear nonchalant.

'That - that was - _whoa_!' Zacko gushed with awe. 'Did, did you see him? That douche of an inspector was just like, "Show me your cargo!" and then Tsuma just waves a hand in that ugly rancor face and goes "You will get the kriff outta here" and they do exactly as he says!'

'I only know of one type of person who can do what you just did.' Kovaar shook his head.

'I thought something was off when you said you took down the pirates single-handed.' Remond agreed. 'You're a Jedi, aren't you?'

'Just because I have the charisma to tell people what to do?' Jaecyn shrugged again.

'Listen, kid, you don't have to hide from us. You saved our butts _twice _in _one_ journey. We won't rat you out. We're not that despicable.' Remond told her seriously.

'Yet.' Zacko added, holding up a finger. Kovaar elbowed him.

'All right, I can do a mind trick, I can use the Force. But I'm still not a Jedi. Yet.' She held up a finger at the last word to mimic Zacko.

'You mean you're just a Padawan?' Remond asked.

'How...do you know what a Padawan is?' Jaecyn returned, slightly agape.

'Yeah, what _is_ a Padawan?' Zacko cut in.

'Got some friends on Corellia who're Jedi of their own. They don't get on well with the Order on Coruscant, though.'

Another ship, this one sleek and silent, slunk past the window. The pilot seemed to be waving toward them.

'Oh, oh!' Remond, seeing the pilot's signal, rushed over.

'Help has arrived.' Kovaar stated.

'Yeah. About a standard hour late, too.' Zacko pouted.

* * *

The newcomer, once they had reached the shipyards and docked safely, turned out to be a working partner and friend of Remond's. He, like Remond, was the kind that would usually try and refrain from talking about what he did at work in the presence of authority. His business was even shadier than Remond's, though, and his skills far more useful when combating hostiles.

'Sorry I'm late. My previous client had to make a huge speech before I could collect my bounty.' The grizzled Twi'lek man said neutrally.

'Well, don't fret about it, Alask. We survived anyway. Shipments intact, too.' Remond waved off his apology.

Alask Sivron glanced at his droids transporting the crates from Remond's ship to his own. 'Yeah, I can see that. I appreciate it.' He turned back. 'You had trouble shooting a womp rat with even the best blasters. How did you do it?'

Remond indicated toward his Togruta crewmate, who was showing a wide-eyed young teen around the hangar, with his Human punk crewmate slouching after them.

'But seven pirates? Even with Kovaar's size and strength he still wouldn't stand a chance.'

'Huh? No, I was talking about the kid.'

Alask's eyes widened by a notch, and he lit a cigar.

'You best be careful around him then.'

'He's a, you know.' Remond waved vaguely. 'Get my meaning?'

'Stowaway, no ID? From one of those unregistered Outer Rim planets with native non-Human races? Oh, boy.' Alask shook his head and chuckled. 'You sneaky rascal. You keeping him around?'

'I'd love to, but.' Remond sighed heavily. 'That kid's got a path of his own to follow. He's going to Coruscant. Least I could do is cut him loose, to thank him for his help.'

Alask nodded. 'I gotta swing by Coruscant anyway. If that's where the kid's headed tell him he could hitch a ride with me. I owe you one, anyway.'

'Will do. Thanks, pal.' They shook hands.

* * *

Jaecyn eyed the newcomer neutrally, evaluating him quietly.

'Tsuma, we're very grateful for your help.' Remond clapped her on the shoulder. 'So I've seen to it that my buddy Alask will take you to Coruscant. Don't worry, he's a much safer pilot than Zacko is.'

'Pleased to meet you.' She smiled formally, holding out her hand. The other man shook it. His clothes were simple but dark-coloured, and several pistols hung from his belt. His lekku trailed down his back, covered in tattoos.

'You're not coming with us are you?'

'I got deliveries to run, kid.'

'Will I see you around again?'

'You'll know where to find us.' Remond gave her a kindly smile.

'I'm actually gonna miss the kid.' Zacko said.

'It was fun teaching you about machines, Tsuma. And thanks again.' Kovaar patted her on the back.

'Thanks, guys.'

'All right, boys. Let's get a move on. Ship ain't gonna fly itself.' The trio headed back to their own ship. Kovaar turned and gave one last wave before they disappeared up the ramp for good.

'So, I hear you single-handedly saved the three of them from a bunch of pirates?' Alask smirked, taking out his cigar.

'Uh, well, not really. Kovaar helped me, and it really isn't that hard when you catch them by surprise, one by one.'

They had reached the cockpit. It was smaller, more compact, than the one on Remond's ship.

He pointed her to the co-pilot seat. 'Just sit tight and don't touch anything.'

'What did Remond give to you, anyway?' Jaecyn asked. 'The crate of spices was just a decoy wasn't it?'

'Sharp kid, huh.' Alask guided the ship out of the hangar and back into open space.

'Firearms?'

'You best not bite the hand that feeds you, kid.'

'Sorry.'

They continued in silence for a while.

'If you have to know, I'm doing this errand for a small swoop gang operating in the Underworld.'

'The Underworld?'

'That's where folks like me do business.'

Jaecyn nodded, understanding. 'Bringing them supplies?'

'Yep. Which reminds me - help me with the crates when we're there. I'm going to see a swoop race there, you can come if you're interested. Quite a few participants this round, too.'

She tilted her head slightly in interest. She could drop by for a bit, to educate herself...

'How long will it take?' She asked.

'Oh, a few hours at the most. Why? Headed somewhere important?'

'I think I'll go for it.'

'Yeah. But no betting.' Alask wagged a finger. 'High chance they may have found a way to rig it.'

'But - that's...'

'A surefire way to make money. Also convenient if you're a sponsor, you don't like one of the guys in the race and want him to...go out with a bang.' Alask chuckled. 'And afterwards blame it on faulty equipment.'

Jaecyn shook her head in disbelief. 'That's despicable.'

'That's really just the tip of the iceberg. You wouldn't believe what people can do to each other.' Alask turned to glance at her. 'No offence, kid, but looking like this makes you an easy target. Your dress, your accent; for hells' sake you're wearing animal skins and carrying a _bow_. Obviously one of those usually gullible rural folk. I know Remond told me you're better than that, but you're going to have to find some way to improve your image when we get there.'

'I best watch my back, then.'

'Better yet, get some friends to watch it for you. Not people you pay to protect you, of course - they can turn on you anytime. Real friends,' Alask shook his head and sighed. 'Are, sadly, kind of a rarity in a galaxy like this.'

She nodded.

'Like you and Remond?'

'Yeah. I saved his butt once, he helped pay my brother's bail, things like that.'

'Lucky for you, then.' Jaecyn stared at the blackness. 'So, what's this swoop racing like?'

'To be honest I'm not a big fan of it, but as a formality to my client I'm supposed to attend it.' Alask set the coordinates for Coruscant and they shot into another tunnel of light. Jaecyn could not stop the huge grin on her face and a childish giggle.

'Trust me, kid. Hyperspace gets boring after a while.' Alask rolled his eyes. 'Swoop races are fast-paced; they're not as dangerous as podracing but that doesn't mean they're any less action-packed.'

'So I can expect there to be an explosion or two.'

'If some idiot screws up, then yeah. It drives the audience crazy.'

'How many people will be watching?'

'You sure have a lot of questions, don't you.' Alask reached for a drawer on the dashboard and took out his water canteen. 'We'll talk more when we get there. For now I need to rest my voice. Can't ruin the surprise for you, anyway.'

Jaecyn stretched her feet out, and let the silence linger for a bit before something dawned on her. This was quite an adventure for an Outer Rim kid like herself. And yet, she felt nothing of the pride, or the excitement, that Wuying-ayah had when he spoke of his travels. She felt almost like this was what the Force had in mind for her, to leave her home and childhood and not look back, revel in change and new experience. So much had happened. Ever since that fateful morning she had not had time to truly sit down and _think._

Keeping still she drew a breath and closed her eyes. Alask would think she was asleep. She had never meditated while slouching in a co-pilot's chair before, and wondered if she would fall asleep faster than she could gain some insight.

Drawing away from the tangible world she immersed herself in her thoughts, and started to reflect on her exploits.

Her last day on Leungching had blurred from a sharp ache to a sore, as if she had deliberately, subconsciously blocked it out. The clearest things she could remember were her father's flashing blue eyes, the bright orange of the pyre, the bright green of the tree on her doorstep thousands of parsecs away, the grey-yellow of the sunset over the falls, and herself falling through rushing mist.

The black of the mercenaries' armour, and the black of her deadly intentions. She breathed sharply, as if stabbed, and barely managed to keep her focus before plunging on. She had nearly lost herself that time. Never again, she fervently vowed to herself, not sure how long she would be able to keep it.

_The best way to stay true to the light is to find brightness._ Pa had told her when she was a child. Find brightness in your current state, find the bright side of things, stay optimistic. Sure, she'd lost her father and had to leave home. She was filthy, hungry and poor. She knew close to no one in this wide, wide galaxy, let alone how to survive it.

But at least she was alive. That in itself unfolded a lot of possibilities. She had her skills. She had defeated two bunches of armed imps and evaded death more than once. Surely she could make it to the Temple. She was a Jedi. That's what she was made for.

Suddenly she was drawn further into the Force. Another vision.

_She flies through a dark jungle of thorned bush, fast, trying to escape. The bushes are literally trying to catch her - she can almost see the branches materializing into dark, twisted hands. The thicket is so dense that even with a juvenile shan's size she can barely fly through it without getting scratched. Then a wall of thorns bursts into flames, as if an explosion. She twists crazily to bypass it and keep from getting her wings caught on the burning brambles. It would be a horrible way to die._

_The thicket opens up into a clearing, a round, perfect circle lined by brighter, greener, far more kempt bush, with no thorns trying to reach out and snag her. But the ground is marble-polished, with ancient sigils on it. Great, tall trees rise like pillars, twelve of them, looking down at her, evaluating her. She stares back up at them, dwarfed, humbled._

_She is a fool to stop. Thorns burst out from the ground and, before she can draw a breath, envelope her, pin her, drag her downward. Screaming does not help. The trees remain still, stoic, standing as she is pulled into the earth._

'AAH!' She shot forward so hard she whacked her head against the dashboard.

'Whoa hey kid, relax!' Alask got out of his chair to help her as she keeled over, head spinning. She let out a string of curses in her native language.

He leaned her back in the chair. 'You ok?'

She nodded, still massaging her throbbing forehead.

'Nightmares?'

'Uh, yeah.'

'What about?'

'Um...man-eating tookas?' She tried a sheepish grin.

Alask threw his head back and howled with laughter.

'No, no, they were like, really cute until they started flashing their fangs.'

'Right.'

More silence. That dream was unsettling. But it was never wise to let mere prophecies dictate your next actions. It usually turned out worse if you deliberately took action to try and prevent it. It was time to distract herself.

'So what's a swoop?'

Alask sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. 'You really haven't been anywhere, have you?'


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11**

When Alask mentioned the 'lower levels' of Coruscant he didn't just mean it figuratively. They had mingled anonymously within the streams of traffic that flocked to the huge planet. Alask guiding the ship toward the unlit hemisphere of the planet.

'How did we sneak past them?'

'Thousands, maybe millions, of ships pass this planet's surface every standard week. The only way they can conduct security procedures without holding up traffic is to scan them quickly as they pass. All the more easier for us to bypass them.'

Advantage really came in great numbers sometimes. 'Clever.'

'More detailed searches are conducted at the official landing bays. But we're not going there.'

As they passed the atmosphere Jaecyn marvelled at the glowing columns of buildings, so tall she wondered if that was why they were called skyscrapers. She leaned as far forward as she could to get a better view. Artificial lights, like the glow bugs that shone on a clear night back home, but in dozens more colours than she could ever dream of. Some of them formed giant letters in Aurebesh that ran along building facades or floating signs in the dark orange sky. Most of those letters spelled words like 'Pleasure Palace', or 'Smoking Lounge: Non-Smokers Not Allowed', or 'Heavenly High'; she even saw one that read 'Drink till you Drop'.

'People here love their entertainment, don't they.'

'Not exactly, it's more like competition's stiff between cantina and brothel owners here in Galactic City. They're all aiming to get the most customers, so they spice up their slogans to the point where they actually get ridiculous.'

They followed the smaller stream of traffic to a large metal-rimmed circular hole, and went down.

'A...giant tunnel?' The lights at the tunnel's sides shot up past them. They kept descending, for minutes, and she almost started to feel like they were going down forever.

Gaps started appearing in the tunnel. Alask turned towards one and steered in. Instantly a whole new city opened up in front of her, almost like the one above, but there was no sky, the lights were less colourful and were more made for practicality than aesthetic, so they were brighter, monotonous and more piercing. The whole place somehow looked and felt...seedier.

'Welcome to the Underworld.'

* * *

LEVEL 1066, declared a sign at the landing bay.

Jaecyn stayed out of sight as much as possible after shifting the crates off the ship while Alask exchanged a few words with the supervisor, a beefy Zabrak with a rotund voice. He made a satisfied noise as the henchmen pried the crates open. Seemed the mission was a success then. Finally Alask was presented with a small case of credits, and they shook hands and exchanged a few more words before he was escorted onto a large hovering barge of sorts, big enough for the crates, the ten gang members, Alask, herself and still have room to boot.

She barely stepped on in time before they took off, catching Alask's concerned glance to reassure him she hadn't lagged behind and missed the transport. She just didn't feel like talking to the others on board - they seemed boorish and seedy, and smelled strange. She sneaked past them, behind the crates so they would not see her and call her over, and went to the front and up the stairs to the upper deck. The swoop gang's leader and his right-hand men stood leaning over the rail or leaning back in large chairs on the deck, each with a glass in hand and chatting about the economy of the black market. Alask stood subtly off to the side, just shaded from the artificial lights, his dark eyewear enhancing the aura of mystery and seriousness around him.

She approached him. 'Hey kid. Race's starting in less than a standard hour.' He greeted her, lowering his voice beneath the thrum of the engines and the noise of the streets below. 'S' matter? Don't like the other guys?'

She rolled her eyes back at them, afraid to say anything within the leaders' earshot.

Alask chuckled and shook his head. 'I know how ya feel, bro.'

They glided upward smoothly, rotating, before stopping in mid-air among several other barges.

'Aren't we...going to watch the race?'

Alask gave her a look. 'We are.' He pointed down to outside the barge.

She peered down. A huge, yellow-lit track weaved like a great wide river through throngs of cheering crowds. Large holoscreens floated in the air, bearing the racers' names.

'From _here_?'

'Hey, you didn't tell me you were afraid of heights.'

'No, I'm not!'

'Never seen a VIP platform before?'

'Well, yeah.'

'Good thing I saved you a spot then.'

Just then a large voice blared from below. Jaecyn started and covered her ears in surprise. 'Greetings, ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages - '

'Wait, you bring your _kids_ to a_ swoop race_?' Another voice cut in, earning a collective snigger from the audience. Adjusting to the noise, she removed her hands and peered over the side to look for the source of the noise, noticing that all the henchmen had rushed to the rail on the lower deck to watch the race.

'Hey, it's just a greeting, you know, something you say when you're being polite. Which you aren't now!' The first voice retorted. The sniggers got louder, and a few henchmen below them started to roar with laughter.

She saw the announcers, standing in a small booth floating at the top of a building opposite the track. She squinted for a better look, then her eyes widened in shock. 'Gods above...' The announcer was _two-headed_.

'Ah, a Troig. Quite rare in the galaxy.' Alask followed her gaze.

'Is he...arguing with _himself_?'

'Well, I don't know, you should ask him.' Alask chuckled back.

The left head glared at the right head, and turned back to the audience. 'Anyway, I'm Tange,'

'And I'm Cosin!' The right head interrupted.

'And welcome to the Downtown's Finest Quarter-finals!' Tange finished. 'We'll be your announcers for tonight, and the race should be starting in less than ten minutes if the police probes don't find us down here first.' Another round of laughter. Jaecyn chuckled to herself.

'As you all know, swoop groups from all over this part of the Underworld compete in this event to determine who's got the baddest racers around! Contenders are still getting ready on the starting point - ' Cosin suddenly looked skyward. 'Wait a minute. Do you see what I see?' Tange pointed excitedly. The entire audience followed their gaze. Jaecyn stuck her head out from under the upper deck and looked up.

'It's not a bird. It's not a ship.' The announcers declared. 'It's our sponsor, the Musky Akkhides!' An even larger zeppelin loomed past the track, over the buildings, bearing the same insignia as the craft they stood on. Only that the larger ship's insignia was decked out with flashing lights to emphasise the point. The audience cheered. The lower deck erupted into huge roars and bellows at the mention of their gang name. A quick shot of the barge's upper deck appeared on the giant holoscreen.

'Musky Akkhides?' Jaecyn raised her eyebrows in amusement, keeping her voice under the noise. 'Seriously?'

Alask shrugged. 'Believe me, I've heard worse. But you better cheer, too.' They started to applaud and whoop as they realised the gang leaders were looking at them.

'Whoo-hee! Yay! Musky Akkhides!' The leaders nodded in satisfaction and turned back to the track.

'I'm proud to be on the personal sail barge of one of the corniest-named gangs in this part of town!' Jaecyn whispered excitedly to Alask. He punched her in the shoulder.

Tange's voice drowned out the noise. 'Let's get this party started! In first lane we have the Brown Claws!' The racer, already straddling his swoop bike, waved to the audience. They cheered.

'Second lane, Flame Poison!' A Bith racer in a ridiculously-coloured flight suit of bright orange and slime green got onto a matching swoop bike.

'Lane three, Killer Wasps!' Their racer flexed his biceps in front of the camera and bellowed.

'Golden Blazers are blazin' up the fourth lane!' Cosin wolf-whistled. The racer, a slender female Twi'lek, flashed a grin at the audience and started blowing kisses.

'Rusty Tuskens in lane five!' Their racer's swoop bike looked like it would not survive the first circuit. Jaecyn wondered if that was why they called themselves as such.

'Lane six, Blood Reapers!' Both the racer and the bike were painted a deadly crimson. Alask saw them and noted, 'Ah, these guys. Quite feared around these parts. Best watch out for them.'

'In Lane seven, the Rocky Dragons!' The racer roared and hollered.

'And last but not least, in the eighth lane we have the Blue Shadow!' The audience cheered for the last racer.

'Wait, Musky Akkhides aren't racing?' Jaecyn asked quietly.

'It's tradition. They won last year's race, so they host this year's instead of participating. That way none of the gangs would get cocky if they were lucky enough to win more than one year in a row. In the past that happened, and when another gang broke the reigning champion's streak it started a gang war and nearly brought down the whole black market.'

Jaecyn nearly burst out laughing.

'It's true.'

The announcers' voices came on again. 'Let's get this party started! Racers please get ready!'

'Now you all know the rules: first one to finish five laps down the main street, past the docks, the old business district and back here is the winner.' Several images appeared on the screen: a map of the entire circuit and the locations mentioned.

'Stay safe out there, and best of luck! Get ready!' All the racers tensed and revved their engines.

'GO!' The first of five lap markers lit up with a loud beep. The racers shot off, leaving dust trails and zooming around the bend. Jaecyn leaned out a little, excited.

Loud beats and heavy warbling noises started to blast from the ground.

'What _is_ that?' Jaecyn shook her head, amused.

'You just heard your first electro-dance.' Alask had gone to a smaller screen attached to the port side rail of the barge. It was getting the live feed from the announcer's booth. A serving droid had walked over with a tray of cocktails. 'Want one?'

'No thanks. People _dance_ to this?'

Alask took a drink and sent the droid away. 'Lots of clubs play it. I don't blame you for disliking it, it's a pretty new genre of music anyway.'

'Wait. That's music?' She glanced over at the swoop gang leaders. Some were bobbing their heads to the beat. She glanced over the side to the lower deck - yep. The goons were tearing up the deck.

'Well...it's catchy. What language are the lyrics?'

'Huttese. Just about the most widely-used language in the Underworld aside from Basic.'

'Huttese, as in, the Hutts?'

'Yeah, they rule this joint, they make theirs the official language here.'

Jaecyn nodded. 'I see.'

The announcers spoke with a rapidfire speed. 'Blue Shadow's currently in the lead, followed closely by Rocky Dragons and Rusty Tuskens neck to neck - OH no! Flame Poison just got knocked off track by Blood Reapers!'

Jaecyn winced at the explosion. 'Isn't that cheating? Aren't they going to do something?'

'Hey, even if they cheat, who can stop them?' Alask shrugged.

'Is that how things work in the Underworld?'

'Most of the time.'

'Hey Alask, my man! Come watch the action with us!' Two of the leaders had materialised behind her. They each clapped an arm around his shoulders and guided him to an empty seat on the deck.

'I'll...see you later, kid.' Alask said to her quickly.

With nothing better to do Jaecyn let him go and went exploring the barge. The crowd below her was wildly cheering and singing to the music. The other barges carried passengers of about the same type as the one she was on - swoop gangs with tattoos and rifles.

A loud beeping came from inside her backpack. _Huh?_

Quickly yanking it around and opening it she took out a small round metal device that was beeping and flashing. She didn't remember packing that. _How in hells did that get in there?_

Then she turned around - and saw the metal-clad man again, shooting straight towards her from the stern of the barge on two streams of flame. He drew his two pistols and aimed at her.


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12**

She barely ducked away in time before he started firing. She tried running to dodge his fire - but it seemed he was trained to take moving targets. One shot singed her cloak and barely grazed her skin. She dived behind the crates and pushed them with the Force, hoping one would knock him. No such luck. He reached into one of his pockets and activated a metal cylinder, throwing it at her and flying off.

It started beeping. She didn't know what it was, but instinct told her to get as far away as possible, as fast as she could.

Instinctively she jumped over the side rail and a split second later the back end of the barge blew up above her, followed by loud curses and exclamations of disbelief on deck_. _Then she realised she was trapped - nothing to break her fall. Worse, she was falling _towards__ the race track._ Not good.

The man had flown to a rooftop and landed, watching her fall. He probably thought that if the fall didn't kill her, the swoop bikes would. She couldn't let that happen. Not when she had not fulfilled her mission.

Her cloak was billowing out on top of her. She grabbed its ends, using it like a parachute, and glided to the side of the street. It was small, and provided little drag, but at least it slowed her fall. By now the announcers had gotten wind of the incident.

'Looks like someone's tried to take out the Musky Akkhides!' As she sailed past the giant screen the announcing got ever louder.

'Ladies and gentlemen, please do not panic! Everything is under control, most of the crew are unharmed! They have safely navigated to the ground! Nothing's damaged except their ship!' Tange was yelling.

'And possibly their pride...' Cosin added, earning another collective snicker and a slap from Tange. 'Oh! I mean...everything okay over there?'

No one noticed her flying? Oh well.

By now she was a few metres above the street. Some spectators were staring at her, and parted to avoid being hit by her. Landing heavily on the concrete she drop-rolled and ran through the smaller streets. Life went on as normal, race or no race - there were speeders and civilians everywhere going about their business.

Why, oh why had she let herself get distracted? If she had gone straight to the Temple she would not have been caught again!

Trying to recall the path the barge took she somehow made it back to the landing bay, and to Alask's ship. He was there pacing around, while the Musky Akkhides stood around cursing and muttering.

'Kid! I've been looking everywhere for you!' Relief was written clearly on his face. 'I didn't see you when the barge went down, I thought maybe you'd fallen off the side, but that's not possible or you would have been dead - '

'Is everyone all right?' She asked.

Alask looked around at the swoop gang. 'A few minor injuries, and they're completely furious about the damage. But don't worry, they aren't asking me to pay for it. Their tech droid says it was possibly a cooling malfunction that caused the blast. Why?'

Jaecyn took him aside and lowered her voice. 'It's not. I should have told you sooner, but someone is after my life. He tried to attack me. But I don't know _how_ he knew I was on board!' As she spoke it suddenly dawned on her - previously when they were showing the race's sponsors on the holoscreen by filming the upper deck, it must have captured her standing in the shadows. She cursed inwardly._  
_

'He threw you a grenade, was that it?'

'Yeah.'

'And you survived.'

'Yeah...'

Alask's eyes widened in respect. 'How?'

'You can ask Remond. But now I'm putting everyone at stake here, so I need to go as soon as possible.'

'Wait.' Alask took her into his ship and rummaged around until he found a small card.

'Good thing I carry a spare. This will get you past the public turbolift.' He pointed to several tubes at the end of the landing bay, placed at the side of the giant tunnel they had come down. She turned the card over in her hand. Bold, slanted letters spelled _Public Transit._

'And if anyone comes knocking, I saw nothing, I heard nothing, all right?' He put his hands up.

Overwhelmed with gratitude, she shook his hand. 'Thanks, friend.'

'You better get going.' Alask patted her on the shoulder before sending her away.

Leaving the ship she made her way quickly to the turbolifts. A slit in the wall blinked with blue light. Inserting the card she soon heard something whooshing up. The doors slid open, and she stepped in and pressed the button for surface level. She looked around her - the space was quite small, almost like a wardrobe. As it shot up again she stumbled slightly at the speed but managed to regain her balance.

And a few seconds later it suddenly stopped halfway, the lights turned off and everything went dark. She was quite sure that wasn't supposed to happen.

* * *

Daryc received the all-clear from Arkay through their shared comm channel, who was at the turbolift's control panel, plugged into its interface and toggling with the lift's programming. He had successfully stalled the lift she was in - now was time to strike.

He swooped up and stuck an explosive charge on the bottom of the turbolift. When he had flown a safe distance away he activated it, and the lift blew up.

Hovering in midair near the side of the sinkhole he observed the debris, hoping to catch sight of at least some piece of her. But the only debris he saw was metal and electrical wiring._  
_

_What? Nothing?_

Then he saw the top part of the turbolift, still relatively intact, save for a red-hot circular hole cut through the ceiling.

Suddenly a green blade lunged out towards him. The girl yelled, jumping from the wall behind him, and tried to strike him. He barely ducked away in time. _How did she!?_

The girl landed on the side wall of the sinkhole and plunged her lightsaber in, dragging it downward to slow her fall until she could jump back into the open mouth of level 1066's landing bay.

He swooped down after her, scattering all the passersby and sending them running for cover, immediately drawing his pistol and firing a barrage of shots. It was no use - she deflected them all, then jumped at him again. Time for a change of tactics.

As she tried to bring her lightsaber to slice him down she was parried with a huge clash and sizzle, and sparks flew everywhere. She landed backwards, somersaulting with the impact, and stared at him in shock.

He smugly held up the object that had saved him - a _bes'bev_, a traditional flute belonging to his clan. It was forged from beskar iron - the pride of the Mandalorians, for it was lightsaber-proof, the one thing his people used to counter their Jedi enemies.

But it was not built solely for playing music. He brandished the sharp, pointed edge of the flute like a short sword. With this, he effectively had a weapon that could stand up to a lightsaber.

'Plenty more where that came from,_ sur'haai ka'ra_.' He taunted. He had called her 'star eyes', for that was what they looked like now - flashing with rage and indignation.

And he ran in to strike, starting a duel between them. Sparks continued to fly, disconcerting her, as he struck again and again. His training in saber combat had paid off, said the look of disbelief on the girl's face. If she thought Jedi were the only ones good at this, she was wrong.

Finally he caught her in blade-lock and forced her downward. She took one hand away from her saber hilt - what was she doing? - and reached out. He looked up just in time to get whacked to the side by a heavy crate. Now it was his turn to see stars. At least his _bes'bev_ was still tightly clutched in his hand.

He struggled to recover. As the girl came toward him again, lightsaber raised this time to stab downwards into his chest, he knew parrying this one would be no use. So he activated his jetpack, skidding on his back across the floor as her lightsaber pierced the place he had been a split second ago. He leapt back on his feet, aimed his arm at her and pressed another button on his gauntlet. An ascending cable shot out and tangled itself around her legs, drawing them together and yanking her off her feet as he retracted it just as quickly. The girl let out a cry of surprise as she was dragged toward him. Quickly he brandished the flute, ready to stab her as she came hurtling toward him. But with one swift slash she knocked his blade away and sliced the rope binding her feet. Before he could react she slashed again at his chest - good thing he ducked backward by instinct or the lightsaber would have cut more than his breastplate and his forearm. He swiftly flew up a short distance away from her, trying to gain a reprieve.

The girl yelled at him, voice charged with hurt. 'My parents are _dead_! First my mother and now my father! Isn't it enough for you!? What more do you want!?'

She had kept her lighsaber. What...?

And in the same instant something stabbed through his leg, completely shocking him with pain. He looked down - the wench had _shot_ him with one of her _arrows._ _What in the hells! _It had only taken her a split second to draw her bow and aim for that small unarmoured space between his kneeguard and shinguard, which was dripping with blood and stained completely red by now. He would not be able to _stand_ in this condition, let alone fight her.

He threw the worst curses he knew at her. She had won this round. Grabbing his wounded leg he poured shots at her with his other hand, flying to safety as she called on her powers and threw another crate at him.

Damn Jedi. She would pay for her actions someday.


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13**

High in the topmost chambers of the Jedi Temple the gnarled old Master sat, legs crossed. The blinds were drawn, filtering out the morning sun.

Breathing slowly, with measured rhythm. The Force around, within himself, he felt. Half aware of his surroundings, and half of him in the Force. Carefully he turned over in his head what he had just seen. Little more than vague images they had been, but with centuries of experience much he could still infer.

Thirty-two Jedi younglings, dressed in identical pale robes like a flock of sheep, walking in an orderly group down great, cavernous halls. Behind them lurked a darker creature, swift and agile, face and form invisible. Observing and following them closely in the shadows of the columns while the younglings trod in the light, but making no move to attack.

The stranger's face he could not recognise, but the younglings' he could. Each of the younglings in his vision, show the entire Order what they had been learning they would. Enter the Apprentice Tournament they would, where with one another they would compete. Nearly all of these younglings would have to rely on this tournament if they hoped to become a Padawan. All except one: the one youngling swaggering at the front a distance ahead of the others, a cocky smile on his face. This young one. Already had a Jedi Master to teach him he did, even before he had come to the Temple for training. Not of great significance this Tournament would be to him then, except for him to prove his worth. Seen fit he had to boast to the others, about how he had a Master and they did not. As if by doing so he would somehow be better than the rest, like he claimed he was meant to be as the prophesied Chosen One.

He opened his eyes, staring at the room before him, and closed them again, picturing the room with his mind. The room started to fade, at least to the part of him that was focused on the Force. The room faded to blackness, and out of the blackness emerged a black hooded figure, face obscured by a metal mask. The figure crossed his arms and spoke. 'Peace is merely an illusion. It will not hold forever.' That mask. Darth Revan. Of course. Feared and respected, legend said he had gone far into the abyss of the dark side and then come back again, torn the galaxy apart as a Sith and rebuilt it again as a Jedi. His words alone could summon masses of people to his cause and turn enemies to allies, so great was his power and influence. Continued his bloodline had, and produced great individuals in the days of old when there was war and the Sith still powerful and numerous, after which when the wars ended the bloodline was assumed lost, for since then there had not been another of such caliber and heritage.

And the vision faded for good, and left sitting in his meditation chair he was. Grand Master Yoda sat, deep in thought. 'Hmmm.'

A knock came on the door. 'Enter you may.'

The door slid open, and Mace Windu walked in and took a seat opposite Yoda.

'How goes the preparations, Master Windu?'

'All goes well, Master Yoda. The selected younglings have been training hard. I am sure they have prepared well. Venue and logistics have long been arranged. Everything is expected to go flawlessly.'

'Hmm.' Yoda shook his head slowly. 'Not flawlessly, Master Windu. Rarely in life, do events unfold the way one wills them.'

'In that case we must warn the Masters in charge. If you have foreseen an attack on the Temple, or an intruder, we must heighten security!' Windu declared.

'Worry not, Master Windu. I sensed no danger. What the Force has in store for us, we can only wait and see.' Picking up his cane he hobbled toward the door.

* * *

In the lower levels of the Jedi Temple numerous Jedi younglings, all between ten and thirteen years of age, crowded around the notice board outside the training rooms.

'The name list! It's up!'

'Right on time, too - it's noon!'

'Hey, I've been put against you!'

'Which round?'

'Well, may the best Initiate win then!'

They suddenly fell silent as someone pushed his way to the front. Padawan Skywalker. He was a strange one among the Jedi. He had come to the Temple at the astounding age of _nine_ when everyone else had practically been raised there. And yet he learned things faster than anyone else his age, and made sure everyone knew he was better than the average Padawan. Arrogance was not a favoured trait among the Jedi, and so most of the others kept their distance from him.

'Huh.' He smirked. 'What do you know. The best among you will get to fight _me_.'

The others whispered among themselves and moved off.

Skywalker let them go; he had little friends at the Temple aside from his Master. Whatever. Droids were easier to work with than people anyway.

Sticking his hands in his pockets he strode off, giving one last glance to the notice board before walking off. Another Padawan had come along to check the name list. He thought it odd that her robes were far more worn and covered in filth than any other Padawan's, and that she carried a backpack made of furry animal skin - and was that a bow slung across her back? - but pushed it out of his mind. Master Obi-Wan had summoned him, and Anakin had learned the hard way that he did not like latecomers.

* * *

Master Jocasta Nu strode down the halls of the great Archives of the Jedi Temple, her pride and glory, the penultimate symbol of knowledge. No other library in the galaxy had as much knowledge, or had artifacts older than those in these very halls. As the Temple's Chief Librarian she had spent years researching and gathering knowledge to further enrich it. The marble floors shone with the afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows at the far end. Pristine, untainted, almost holy - just like how the pursuit of knowledge should be.

Around this time of the year there would always be a peak in the number of students coming to the Archives to search for materials related to the ancient lightsaber combat techniques. But once one reached Master Jocasta's age they would know last minute cramming would not help much; it was little more than a short-sighted method, good for little more than reprieves. It was always better to keep your saber sharp at all times, rather than start honing in the final moments.

And - was that a _mud stain!?_

Horrified, Jocasta reached down to touch the small brown spot on the polished marble floor, and immediately recoiled in disgust. Not just mud - a mixture of grease and a healthy dose of starship petrol was in it, too. And it was not the only one.

She looked up and saw a whole trail of muddy footprints, leading several meters from the main entrance of the library before disappearing at the spot where she stood, as if the culprit had vanished in midair. It seemed to her more of a long path of destruction. Had she been any other normal lady she would have fainted. But instead she swallowed her rage and summoned two cleaning droids with her comlink before stalking off in search of the offender. The footprints looked too small to belong to an adult - but at these hours it was past lesson time for the younglings and Padawans, and even if any of them had a reason to come here they would know better than to wreak such unsanitary carnage on the whole place. Not even the late Master Jinn, Force rest his soul, was _that_ unhygenic.

She stormed into the main aisle, the one with the busts of the Lost Twenty arranged in two straight rows at the end of each shelf. Someone was standing in front of the bust of Master Dooku, the last of the Lost Twenty, admiring it. At first she dismissed it and strode on - no one liked to talk about Dooku's devastating departure, especially herself, he had been a dear friend - but something had caught her eye and made her turn back. But whoever had been there was now gone. She could have sworn she saw two boots hanging from the person's back. Rarely did anyone in the Temple go around without their shoes touching the ground, unless in their own living quarters. Or unless they were afraid of dirtying the floor...

Completely defying the air befitting of a venerable Jedi Master she rushed over, even though she knew trying to look for the culprit was futile by now.

* * *

Barriss Offee stood quietly next to Chief Healer Vokara Che and the table bearing the healing items. Watching quietly, learning quietly.

The elder Master was muttering under her breath as she gruffly patched up her young patient, a young male Padawan in her class who was sitting on a tall stool and wincing in a very non-stoic fashion. 'Why is it you younglings neglect safety, throw caution to the wind, when practising with something as dangerous as a lightsaber?'

Actually the Padawan before them was the only one so far to get banged up during a training duel in preparation for the upcoming Apprentice Tournament, but Barriss kept her comments to herself.

'Pass the tweezers, Initiate Offee.' Barriss obeyed, selecting a tool from the sanitised steel tray.

'I tried really hard to be careful, Master. Honest.' The Padawan yelped slightly in pain as Master Che pulled a splinter from his arm.

'Then tell me why do you look like you fell through the roof of an eopie stable? Scalpel, Barriss.'

Barriss passed her the tool. 'I'll fetch some bacta from the next room, Master.'

'Get me some gauze while you're at it, Initiate Offee.' Master Che waved her away.

She bowed and left the room. The night was quiet, and the Halls of Healing empty and dimly lit except for the ward she was working in - few Jedi ever had injuries so severe they had to be kept overnight for recuperation. Her classmate would be the last patient before she was dismissed for the night.

As she passed the glass window of a darkened ward she stopped. The door was shut, but the room was empty. Usually all unoccupied wards had their doors open. Then she noticed that the shower in the ward's refresher had been used - a light blinking on the wall told her so. She palmed the door panel and went in, fetching a canister and a roll of gauze from the medicine cabinet. Curious, she went slowly toward the entryway to the refresher -

A loud yelp came from the other ward, followed by a muffled scolding from Master Che. She jumped, startled. Berating herself for letting curiosity get the better of her she hurried back to the task at hand. She did not notice the dark figure sitting in the corner of the shower area blocked from view by the toilet, head rested against the wall in slumber, backpack placed on lap. Neither did she see, as she ran out of the dark ward, the figure wave a hand toward the door, closing and locking it.

* * *

The next morning the dining hall was abuzz with excitement. The Apprentice Tournament would be held at midday, and the participants were nearly drowned in the well-wishes of their fellow Initiates and the reminders of their Masters.

Master Kenobi sat at a small table at the back of the hall, facing the front. Both had finished their morning meal. 'Remember your strengths and flaws Anakin, and all I've taught you.'

'Master, it's not like I _need_ to count on this tournament to become someone's Padawan. I have you.' Anakin leaned back in his chair opposite Obi-Wan, picking his teeth.

'That does not make it any less important, my young apprentice.' Obi-Wan gave him a hard stare.

'I'm the Chosen One, Master. Besides, I'm already fourteen; I'm too old for this tournament anyway.'

'You are still my apprentice, and you will follow my teachings.'

'Yeah, practice makes perfect. Whether I'm really the Chosen One has yet to be proven. All right.' Anakin fought the urge to roll his eyes.

'I'm perfectly serious about this, Anakin. It's time you should be too. Even if you are the Chosen One you are to take your duties seriously or - '

'Hey Kenobi!' Master Quinlan Vos passed by with a tray of food and whacked Obi-Wan on the shoulder. 'Did you hear what happened in the Archives yesterday?' He took the seat next to Obi-Wan without being asked to. Anakin grinned at their visitor. At least here was one of the few Jedi who knew how to lighten up a bit from time to time. 'Morning, Master Vos.'

'Hey kiddo!' Quinlan grinned back, looping an arm around Obi-Wan's shoulder.

Obi-Wan pinched the bridge of his nose. 'Not now, Vos.'

'What happened, Master Vos?' Anakin asked eagerly.

'Someone went in last afternoon, and messed up the whole place! Left mud all over the floor! Man, I've never seen old lady Librarian _this_ pissed since - '

'Quinlan.' Obi-Wan's voice hardened. 'I am in the middle of an important briefing for my Padawan. He is to participate in the Apprentice Tournament later. You can share the news with us _afterwards_.'

'Okay, man.' Unfazed, Quinlan grinned and walked off. 'Catch ya later, Kenobi.'

Anakin's grin dropped. Master Obi-Wan sure knew how to be a wet blanket.

'I'm not being a wet blanket, Anakin. You should know to prioritize between gossip and preparation. If you don't do well on this the Council may start to doubt your worth. Remember how reluctant they were when accepting you?' Obi-Wan hated having to resort to such harsh methods, but with Anakin sometimes he was left with no choice.

Anakin's scowl got ever darker. He almost looked ready to murder someone.

Just then Obi-Wan saw a cloaked figure, a dark-haired Padawan, walking noiselessly towards the counter where the droids were serving. But it was not the figure that caught his eye; it was the robes the person was wearing. Despite the Jedi Code clearly discouraging getting attached to a person or object, and another unspoken rule against vanity Anakin had grown fond of his special set of black Padawan apparel, and Obi-Wan used that trait to spot him in a crowd of Padawans since not many Jedi wore black. And now they were on a different person. Obi-Wan knew the laundry was usually distributed on this day of the week, but for someone to accidentally take robes that clearly weren't theirs was unfathomable.

'Anakin...aren't those _your_ robes?'

Anakin whirled round, but the person's back was turned by now, facing the counter to get a helping of food, so Anakin only saw the cloaked back.

'What...?'

A group of younglings in front of them stood up simultaneously to return their trays, blocking their line of sight. By then the person had gone. 'Never mind.' Better for him to focus on the task at hand and worry about vanities later.


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14**

_Author's Note: Some scenes may conflict existing canon, I apologise for that. And I may have gone out of character with some of them._

* * *

The annual Jedi Temple Apprentice Tournament was a grand event, witnessed by many of the Jedi, from the youngest Initiate to the ancient Master Yoda. Thirty-two Initiates had the honour of dueling one another, with the victor moving on to the next round. Of course, there was no death involved, for the Jedi frowned upon taking a life unless absolutely necessary, for it was absolutely immoral and pushed one toward the dark side - and it would slash the numbers of the future generation. Three marks on one's opponent was enough for one to win the duel. Real lightsabers, in inexperienced hands, were dangerous tools, so only training lightsabers, like the real version only with a less lethal current, were used.

They had been paired off; the first round would have sixteen victors, the second eight, and the final round an open duel between the remaining four to decide the winner. Of course, for most tournaments the objective was to win and proceed to the next round. The winner of the Tournament would receive considerable praise from Masters and fellow Padawans alike. But the most important goal of each participant was instead to showcase one's skill, in the hopes of being found worthy by an observing Master to take on as apprentice.

And for this special event the special sparring arena was used. _How pompous._ She disdainfully folded her gnarled hands in her black cloak and strode down the mezzanine. Several younglings, upon seeing her, visibly shrank and their excited chatter died down. A few Padawans gave her the proper greeting and, lacking subtlety, immediately averted their gaze afterward. The other Masters who ran into her gave little more than a curt nod. She even heard one of the more frivolous Knights commenting about how this event had even 'lured the Dark Woman out of her murky lair'.

Were she any other Jedi she would have flickered with annoyance. But she was the Dark Woman. Her fellow Jedi had not given her this title as a nickname, she had chosen this moniker for herself. Whispers went among the younger ones that she was a servant of the dark side, and not just because of her name.

Let them whisper and point. She cared little about what others thought of her. If anyone had anything to say about her she only took notice if it was of importance to her, and if it was said to her face.

One Master broke away from the group he was talking to, and strode up beside her.

'Master Kuro.' Ki-Adi-Mundi greeted her with a small but friendly smile. One that was genuine, such a rarity these days.

'I prefer to be addressed by the name I have selected for myself, Master Mundi.' An'ya Kuro replied.

'My apologies, Master.' Ki-Adi-Mundi simply refused to address her by that title. He avoided it at all costs. He, even after decades of friendship, thought it impolite, for lack of a better word. 'What brings you to the Tournament this year?'

'Am I not welcome?' She arched an eyebrow at him.

'No, no, every Jedi is encouraged to attend.' He chuckled. 'I was simply wondering why, since you have not shown interest in these matters for a long time.'

'Let's just say I finally caved in to your endless invitations. Or perhaps I'm up for a little...entertainment.'

'The Tournament is a showcase of our younglings' abilities. Entertaining is not exactly the word I would use, although it is a little exciting for the younger ones, and it can get entertaining when an advanced move or two is displayed.'

'You're missing the point. I find it entertaining, how the brats completely get their dueling stances wrong. Force help us, some of them can't even hold a lightsaber properly. Is this really the future of the Order?' The Dark Woman's lip nearly curled in disgust. 'Pathetic. Disappointing.'

Ki-Adi-Mundi merely smiled and shook his head. 'I say, Master, your demands of fellow Jedi verge on unrealistic.'

'You flatter me, Master Mundi.'

They had reached the sparring arena. Crowds of other Jedi moved in groups toward the doors; it was like watching a huge brown mass ooze through tiny holes. The younglings came in their respective classes, and sat down in neat rows in the front while the Masters, Knights and Padawans stood behind them. The viewing area was elevated several metres above the sparring court, and the Dark Woman now looked down her nose at the Tournament's first two participants who walked out of the two opposite entryways that led from the training room in the lower level onto the court. A Human boy with ridiculous hair, and a green-skinned Mirialan girl of no more than eleven, dressed in long, voluminous traditional Mirialan robes and at least a head shorter than the boy. She had seen that girl before - Initiate Offee, if she was not mistaken. Master Luminara Unduli had had her eye on taking this young girl as apprentice for a long while - so much so that this duel seemed merely a formality.

The two younglings bowed first to the audience, then to the panel of Masters serving as umpires, and finally to each other.

Master Yoda spoke. 'Welcome, one and all. Of great importance this event is. Concerns the future generation of the Order, it does. Initiates whom, if before thirteen years of age and been selected by a Master they have not, will participate.'

_Can he not just get to the point? _She scorned silently. Master Mundi, sensing her thoughts, bristled slightly.

'Trust yourselves. Use your instincts. And may the Force be with you, Initiates.' Yoda tapped his cane on the ground. The two younglings ignited their training lightsabers.

He tapped again. They sank into their opening stances.

A louder, firmer tap. The duel began. The Human boy lunged at Offee and delivered several blows, but she calmly blocked each with a firm parry, stepping backward but not giving up much ground. The Dark Woman arched a brow in interest. Out the corner of her eye she also saw Master Luminara Unduli watching Initiate Offee closely, blue eyes piqued more than usual.

The Human boy was a fool - throwing all his effort into the first charge and not making it last. He was beginning to tire, his strokes getting sloppier. Finally Initiate Offee seized an opening, and singed his elbow. Agitated, he tried to slash back at her, but she spun gracefully out of range and twirled her lightsaber to cut his trouser thighs, earning a few noises of awe from the audience. She had laid two marks on him in one strike. The judging Masters called out a score.

'Impressive.' Ki-Adi-Mundi commented.

'For someone her age.' The Dark Woman replied smoothly. 'But the standards of a group cannot be determined by one exception.'

The two duelists bowed to each other again. Barriss Offee retreated back into the entryway to await her turn in the second round while the Human boy limped off the arena, eliminated.

'And we must sit through thirty more duels worse than this one?'

'You're being far too pessimistic, Master.'

And so they watched as pair after pair of younglings went on the arena. Several of the losers came close to losing control of their emotions and downright bursting into tears.

'How weak.'

'They will outgrow it, Master.'

And then Padawan Skywalker came on. The crowd started to murmur as he, with his traditionally offense-inclined combat style, conquered his opponent within minutes.

'That boy's skill is far outdone by his arrogance.' The Dark Woman eyed him critically as he swaggered back into the victors' area.

'I have to agree with you on that.'

Thankfully, the fact that most of the younglings' lack of skill also meant the duels were fairly short. But it still seemed an eternity before Barriss Offee was called on again to mark the first duel of the second round. Most of these younglings, at least, knew something other than the elementary Form I taught to all Initiates. She was getting tired of broad, disappointingly simple hacks and slashes.

When the second round finally ended the eight left happened to be those whom had made quite a name for themselves among the ranks of the Initiates, and not just because of ability.

'I sense a certain...aggression in each of them. Awoken not only by the physical strain of dueling but by something more, in quite a few.'

'Possibly borne by desperation.' The Dark Woman stated dryly.

'Now, Master, it's not the end of the universe if they can't become a Padawan.'

'Getting packed off to the AgriCorps is a fate almost akin in their young minds. Or have you forgotten what it was like to be at that stage, Master Mundi?' The Dark Woman's thoughts drifted against her will. To her own experience. Not her own, of course - she had been selected easily enough without having to go through the tournament. But she thought of the Padawans assigned to her because they were labelled as 'problem cases' by the Council of Reassignment, because they had fared well in the Tournament but still were not selected. Several times she had been here, on the lookout for a potential Padawan.

Each apprentice who came under her wing had been powerful but showed difficulty in control and unsettling dark tendencies. When the nurseries and their methods tailored for the more obedient, docile children failed, they turned to her. For the Dark Woman was unafraid to push her students to the brink, to dangle them over the precipice and make them stare into the darkness, if that was what it took to tame them.

Some flourished under her teachings, brought their anger under control and their potential to the fullest.

But as for some others her harshness only served to deepen their hatred of her - and of the Jedi. It was not a memory she liked to dwell in.

She had never taken another apprentice since. The humiliation was close to unbearable. The failure as a master was worse. It added to the bitterness she felt watching Padawan after Padawan get eliminated from the arena.

And as Skywalker vanquished yet another of his peers several younglings applauded while hushed murmurs went among the elder Masters, with a few nods of approval. The Dark Woman sighed, so imperceptible it seemed like she was exhaling. It had been a long time since she had seen a young one brimming with potential - aside from Skywalker, of course. One who didn't follow the flock blindly, even if that meant belligerence that frustrated those on top to the end of their wits. One who was not restricted by the monotonous regulation of early Jedi training, groomed and tamed almost into subservience.

Her mind had wandered too far - Ki-Adi-Mundi was speaking to her. 'Master?'

'I'm still alive.' She replied sarcastically, annoyed that she had let herself drift.

Ki-Adi-Mundi nodded slightly in understanding, as if sensing her earlier musings. But he kept his reservations to himself. 'The third round has begun.'

The remaining four, predicatably, consisted of Initiate Offee and Padawan Skywalker alongside two others, a humanoid boy whom already had a minor cut from an earlier duel, and a broad-shouldered Nautolan girl. This round was a free-for-all - since the best among the lot had been sieved out the stakes were higher, for now everyone in the arena was your opponent.

The four younglings bowed to the audience and the panel, and stood in a square in their opening stances. Yoda thumped his stick, and the duel began, far fiercer than any other fought so far. Skywalker charged first the other boy while Initiate Offee staved off the Nautolan girl's swift slashes.

'Skywalker made a wrong choice of opponent. The other girl would have been less difficult to take on, but he went for the boy only because he was injured. He does not know this other boy is more skilled and only received that cut out of folly. He obviously did not watch the earlier duels.' Ki-Adi-Mundi observed.

'He was probably so sure he would win that he did not bother analyzing his opponents.'

'That will be a deadly flaw.' Master Mundi agreed.

The humanoid boy ducked another slash from Skywalker, and backflipped toward the other pair, joining all four of them in battle. In the following onslaught of sabers dueling partners were switched. Initiate Offee was putting up a noble defense, but it was clear Skywalker had the upper hand. As Initiate Offee spun to dodge his attacks her Mirialan robes swung with the motion - and Skywalker used that to his advantage, nicking a sleeve here, a hem there until she bore the three marks necessary for elimination. The judges called the duel to a pause, but before they declared her out she was already bowing humbly to the rest and making ready to leave. The Dark Woman sensed no malice from her, not even the slightest trace of the frustration so often seen in young ones.

'I am honoured to have sparred with you, fellow Padawans. I have learned much.' Initiate Offee smiled gently.

'Ah. A prime example of sportsmanship - the other younglings should learn from her.' Ki-Adi-Mundi nodded in approval.

'Her humility is questionable. One would think she was honoured to be defeated.' The Dark Woman muttered.

The judging panel resumed the duel, and the remaining three began to circle each other, scrutinizing, waiting. Skywalker made the first move again, this time attacking with even more gusto than before. His superior prowess in the Force was unmistakable - the other two struggled to keep up with his fast, Force-enhanced strokes. The Nautolan girl was unfortunate enough to receive two cuts. Finally his hand shot out, and she flew backward several metres, stumbling and landing unelegantly on her backside.

The other boy continued the duel, but he was evidently tiring. As skilled as he was even the stamina of one so young could not hold out for long. Another slash, a small one on his thigh. Before Skywalker could deal the eliminating strike the Nautolan had jumped in to parry.

'She just saved the other boy.'

'Unity is strength, after all, Master.' But Ki-Adi-Mundi was wrong this time. The two younglings' efforts combined put up a challenge, but Skywalker only sped up his strokes and stepped up his aggression, and finally marked them both in a single broad slash.

'Two in one shot!' The younglings breathed in awe, as the panel declared the final scores.

Yoda stepped up and spoke again, as the other two bowed humbly to Skywalker, who by now was unable to control the smug smirk on his face. All the other participants filed onto the arena again to thank their opponents and the audience.

'Fought valiantly, each one of you have. Realised your strengths, confronted your weaknesses. Well done, all of you. And well done, Padawan Skywalker.' Skywalker's smirk faded a little, as though he was displeased at the meagerness of the praise. The Dark Woman fixed him with a disapproving glare.

'He clearly has not learned humility.'

'Master Kenobi has been trying very hard.' Ki-Adi-Mundi lamented.

The Jedi were leaving now, filing out the doors. The panel of judging Masters took their leave as well. The tournament's participants followed suit, heading toward the arena's exit doors while chatting excitedly among themselves. Several Masters waited at the doors leading down to the arena, waiting for the younglings to come back up. It seemed several of the participants had been lucky enough to get a Master to notice them. Among them stood Master Kenobi, with an expression belying slight apology, conversing with Master Unduli until Initiate Offee appeared at Master Unduli's side and they bade him farewell. Skywalker lagged behind the rest, kicking at the polished floor while strolling toward the exit, hands stuffed in pockets, expression dark, head bowed.

'Anakin.' His Master's stern voice quickened his pace. By now most of the Jedi had left - the entire section of the gallery opposite the arena exit was emptied. Even the participants had cleared, and there was only herself, Ki-Adi-Mundi and Master Kenobi waiting for his Padawan. One by one the lights were turned off until only the arena was illuminated.

'Coming, Master?' Ki-Adi-Mundi stood outside the door.

But the Dark Woman suddenly stood rigid, piqued, alert. 'Something is amiss, Mundi. Do you not sense it?'

As Skywalker reached ten paces away from the exit the arena exit doors suddenly shut of their own accord, followed by the several gallery doors, cutting off Ki-Adi-Mundi, closing one by one until the whole hall was plunged in darkness save for the dueling area. Startled, Skywalker's head snapped up and he whirled around to the other side, drawing his lightsaber. A masked figure clad in black, lithe and dark, jumped down from the gallery into the arena, landing noiselessly with feline grace. Master Kenobi immediately drew his lightsaber. The Dark Woman instinctively reached for her own lightsaber as well.

The figure rose, slowly, and emerged from the shadowed corners into the light.

'Oh no. Not good.' Kenobi muttered as Skywalker's eyes widened in rage. But not because of the intruder's presence. His observation in the dining hall had proven correct.

'My - MY ROBES!' The boy screamed in high-pitched indignation. The Dark Woman raised an eyebrow. Intimidating as the intruder seemed, this was almost _amusing_. This person had just found a surefire way to invoke terrible ire from Skywalker.

The intruder reached for the lightsaber hilt on her belt - correction, Skywalker's belt - a strange hilt, nearly twice the length of a normal saber. Igniting it, she performed an opening move, fast and elegant, and sank into opening stance, beckoning to Skywalker. A direct challenge to him and only him.

'The Makashi flourish.' She breathed. No youngling of Skywalker's age had truly learned to perform this complex move with the grace she displayed.

Skywalker didn't need to be asked twice. He charged the intruder with a loud yell, saber ignited. The intruder took a bold leap before meeting him in the middle, and the duel began. Skywalker fought with even greater unbridled offensive. But he had finally met his match - each strike of his was knocked away by light, swift strokes from his opponent, and a few completely missed his opponent as she simply stepped out of range. The Dark Woman studied the intruder closely. She seemed to be weaving her saber rather than flourishing it, slicing rather than swinging, flicking her wrist rather than slashing with wide sweeps of the arm, her footwork more that of a dance than a fight. She feigned a stab to his right side and, as he instinctively swung his saber to protect his side, spun around to his left and twirled her saber overhead before bringing it down and taking off a corner of his left sleeve.

_Strange, _she thought. The intruder's lightsaber hilt seemed far too long for a combat form like hers that required precision of strikes. And yet it did not hinder her performance.

If Skywalker had been shocked, he recovered quickly. Bringing his hand back he pushed the Force outward, sending the intruder flying backward into the air. She flipped with the motion and landed in a crouch on the gallery rail. As Skywalker ran and leapt the several metres up over the rail onto the gallery seats to continue the duel she rose to a standing position with only a slight wobble, and outstretched her left hand for balance, fencing with her right hand. By the Force, she was just as competent up there as she had been on flat ground. She walked the rail like a tightrope, driving Skywalker back, not allowing him the opportunity to slice at her legs. Finally he retreated a short distance, out of her reach, just in time for Kenobi to throw him his own lightsaber. He couldn't fail now, not with two blades against one. Moving back in he sliced with both sabers above the rail, but his opponent simply backflipped off onto the arena. He jumped down to attack her, sabers splayed to attack her on both left and right knowing at least one would find its mark -

Only to realise he was, again, wrong. Both sabers clashed, unable to cut her. The Dark Woman's eyes widened, and she heard Kenobi utter something akin to a gasp. For another blade had sprung out of the intruder's lightsaber pommel, blocking both Skywalker's sabers. The intruder seized the opportunity and pushed back hard with the Force while Skywalker was still dazed, sending him stumbling back while she twirled her saberstaff with a hint of smugness and held it out horizontally in front of her.

'Anakin! Get out of there!' Kenobi's voice hinted an unusual concern. Ah, yes. The last time Kenobi faced off against a saberstaff-wielding opponent things did not end very well for him. The whole Order knew that.

'I can handle him, Master!' Anakin retorted before charging her again. What, was Skywalker unable to tell someone's gender? The way the intruder felt in the Force was a dead giveaway.

But, as it turned out, Skywalker was right for once. With the extra blade it was even harder for Skywalker to penetrate her defenses but the intruder's moves were greatly reduced. Now she could do little more than whirl it like a kayaker's paddle. Faster and faster, until she scored a lucky move and sliced through the hilt of the training lightsaber.

Just then the doors opened again and half of the High Council rushed in. 'Someone hijacked the door system! We couldn't get in!' Mace Windu barked. Then he saw the commotion down in the arena.

'Step away, Padawan Skywalker!' He strode up, as if gathering the Force for a large, devastating attack. Skywalker heeded this time, as if knowing what Windu was about to do. He leapt up and backwards to where Kenobi stood.

Windu reached outward, and the very Force itself seemed to crackle and fracture, then fill up again until the pressure was stifling, then unbearable. The intruder was lifted upward and frozen in spasms of agony - the Dark Woman thought she heard the cracking of joints over her muffled screams until Windu released his grip, and she fell into a heap on the floor, and struggled to get up when she had barely enough strength to move.

Windu stepped forward, brandishing his lightsaber, but the Dark Woman floated herself down into the arena first. 'I'll handle this.' She stepped up until her shadow loomed over the girl, who looked up, eyes fearful over her mask. But before the intruder could act she touched her fingers to the girl's head. She crumpled to the ground again, out cold, lightsaber rolling out of her hand.


End file.
